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Fast Feathered Friends

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By PHILIP MORGAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

LUTZ - LUTZ - Fans call them athletes. You may look up and see pigeons.

But these aren't your park-loafing, statue-soiling hoi polloi. These are "racing homers" — competitive homing pigeons — and their season begins Saturday.

Somewhere near Ocala, hundreds of cage doors will pop open simultaneously about 8 a.m., weather permitting, and 2,500 to 3,000 rookie racers will dash at 40-plus mph toward their homes in the Tampa Bay area. Their owners, anxious as parents, will look skyward for the sight of their birds zooming in, one by one, to their backyard lofts.

It's the first competition of the year for the young birds of the All-Tampa Racing Pigeon Club. All competitors hatched and trained just this year, so they're flying a mere 100 miles or so. The older birds' season starts in the winter. Those pigeons fly farther and longer; release them in North Carolina and they'll be home in a day, flying as fast as 60 mph.

Not all of them make it, however. Some pigeons may get lost, and hawks may snag others. The owner rarely learns what happened.

It's a terrible feeling, says Alfredo Perez, 66. About 15 years ago, his heroic Czonka disappeared for four weeks after being released in North Carolina.

"I used to say to myself on the way back from work at UPS, I'd say, 'The first time the north winds start really pushing to Tampa, that bird's going to show up,'" says the Town 'N Country resident, now retired.

One day, Perez came home and found his Czonka.

"I got home and there he was, skin and bone. I mean, literally. He was walking through the yard. I started crying because I get emotional. The bird never gave up."

Czonka flew a few more races before retiring.

The hobby — some say sport — occupies the leisure time of a million people worldwide, according to the American Racing Pigeon Union, an umbrella association for clubs around the country.

It started in Europe in the early 19th century. The world hub of pigeon racing, then and now, is Belgium.

Florida attracts many pigeon fanciers, many of whom are retirees. Because of the high number of hobbyists and the intensity of the competition, the Spring Hill area of Hernando County has been dubbed "Little Belgium." More than 200 enthusiasts, all members of the Gulf Coast Homing Club, live in the area.

'Fancy' Pigeons Lend A Beak

In competitions, thousands of pigeons are freed simultaneously from their cages, and each darts toward home. A sensor on each pigeon's leg records its arrival at the gate to its loft. Its flight speed is calculated, and the fastest bird wins.

Owners go to great lengths to make their birds dart for the loft gate. When they see the homers approach, they release "drop" birds, trained to fly straight to the gate. These lures are usually "fancy" pigeons, colorful varieties often bred for show. They lead the racers straight home.

The top national competition, the Snowbird Classic in California, disperses $600,000 to the big winners. Most local races, such as this Saturday's, award a trophy, certificate of accomplishment and bragging rights.

Except during racing season, when pigeons race weekly, Perez and other owners gather monthly at the home of Erio Alvarez, the Tampa club's secretary. He keeps about 200 pigeons in an elaborate avian apartment complex in his sprawling Lutz back yard.

Among his flock are eight breeding males imported from Europe. Rembrandt, a favorite from the Netherlands, is the son of a European racing champion and the father of three of Alvarez's winners.

Such breeders can cost $2,500 to $5,000 each.

"I could have bought a top-of-the-line car for what I have invested in these birds," says Alvarez, 65, retired from the Hillsborough County administrator's staff.

A Good Racer Can Cost $500

People don't need to spend that much to get into the hobby, though. Alvarez raises about 20 birds a year that he gives to new club members. People can buy a good racer for $200 to $500, he says.

Alvarez buys and sells his breeders in an effort to produce faster and faster birds. He wants birds that aren't afraid to break from the flock early on.

Most stay within the protection of the group for most of the flight, peeling off to their different coops only as they get close. But the racing instinct of true champions overcomes the pull of the flock, Alvarez says, and they zoom ahead. Those are the kind breeders try to produce.

Alvarez, a Tampa native, was introduced to the hobby by his father. Alvarez's son, Eric, is now president of the All-Tampa Club, which was founded before World War II.

"I carried him in here the first time," says Dad. "By the time he started toddling, he just followed me in."

Reporter Philip Morgan can be reached at (813) 259-7609 or pmorgan@tampatrib.com.

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