This article is one of an individual that has from a humble beginning more than proven himself not only to be a very successful pigeon fancier, but a person that has become a very successful businessman. I say humble beginnings because Pat along with other members of his family, migrated to Australia in 1956 from Italy when Pat was only 6 years of age as did many others of that era including my own family.

Pat’s father had arrived in Australia 4 years earlier in 1952 gaining employment to save enough money to buy a house which they did in the western Sydney suburb of Canley Heights. It was here while attending Canley Vale Public School where Pat was to meet several boys whose fathers raced pigeons, Pat saying that many of these boys names are a vague memory to him now as it has been over 60 years ago, but in saying that Pat said he can still remember a group of around six or seven boys getting together to form a junior pigeon club that competed in the then Fairfield Pigeon Club that was affiliated with the Central Cumberland Federation and from that time on Rugby League and pigeons became their passion and past time.

Reflecting back Pat said that he first had pigeons in 1959 as a 9 year old, but they were mainly “Tumblers and Fancy Pigeons”. It wasn’t until he was 12 years of age that Pat said he obtained his first racing pigeons that were gifted to him from a fancier that lived down the road from where he lived in Canley Vale.

1966 and 67 was the first time that Pat was able to raced his birds, albeit as a junior member in the Fairfield Club Pigeon Club, but it wasn’t long after that the family moved house to the inner city suburb of Leichhardt saying that he didn’t race again until 1997, this time with the old Burwood Club.

In 1978 Pat joined the Ryde Putney Club and was once again competing in the Central Cumberland Federation. 1981 saw Pat once more relocate, this time to Lidcombe an inner western suburb of Sydney joining the Regents Park Pigeon Club racing there for the next 17 years. It was while living here in 1988 that Pat won the coveted Central Cumberland “Queens Cup All Age National” from Balranald, a 5 bird limit race from a distance of 680km with 295 fanciers competing that entered 1475 birds.

A further move by Pat saw him purchase and relocate to a small acreage lot at Dural in Sydney’s northeast region where Pat lives to this very day having joined the Hills District Pigeon Club where he was a member for 17 years. These days Pat is a member of the Dural Pigeon Club that was formed in 2017 adding that he is 1 of 7 foundation members of this club.

The above is a brief, although detailed background to Pat’s early days with a short detailed description as to where Pat is today. The following are Pat’s responses to a list of questions that I supplied to him to give fanciers a greater insight to Pat the pigeon fancier, what and how he manages and trains his pigeons, his views on the sport, his family of pigeons, some of his achievements, selection methods and his views on the future of the sport.

Of course I will finish off with a little more of where I started with regards to Pat’s “Humble Beginnings” and where he is today as a very successful business man. What he has done and what he does today may surprise many of you.

Following on from the brief overview I asked Pat if he has held any positions within his club/s and/or federation to which he replied that he is currently the Federation (CCF) Junior Vice President, his club Federation Delegate, member of the Federation Management Committee and is on the East-coast Long Distance Club Liberation Committee.

When asked about what he thought the highlights of his racing career to-date were, and what his achievements were for the current season so far, Pat answered by saying that his first Federation win was in 1983, winning with a Red Checker Cock off birds obtained from the late Les Parkinson, one of the top fanciers of his day that raced in the strong Leichardt Flying Club, this bird winning against 13,500 birds.

Then in 1988 Pat was to win the CCF All Age Derby – “Queens Cup National” as mentioned earlier. This bird, a Blue Bar Cock was bred off birds obtained from another great Sydney fancier that being Bob Giltnan. Pat said another fond memory was when he won the Federation’s 1993 race from Mingary, a distance of 600mls with a Jan Arrden X Giltnan bred bird that enabled him to win the strong Regents Park Club Championship in 1993. Another highlight while a member of the Regents Park Club was winning the first 5 races of that season.

In 1998 Pat joined the Hills District Pigeon Club where again some special memories were made, these included having the only 2 birds home on the day from Warrnambool, a distance of 580ml, both being timed in the dark. This along with winning the 350, 400, 500 and 600ml races in the one year, many times having the only bird home on the day of liberation.

The Dural Club where Pat races now was formed in 2017, and as mentioned earlier Pat was a founding member of this club with Pat explaining that the Dural club was formed as a break-away from the Hills District Club as it was thought that the boundary was too large with the distance between the short and long markers being 24km. The Dural Club as it is now has a boundary radius of 6km with a membership of 17.

As to his highlights over the past 4 years since racing in the Dural Club Pat has on one occasion, early in the season won 6 races in a row, following this up by winning 3 races in a row from Sale a distance of 350ml having clocked the only bird on the day from the third Sale race that turned out to be a very hard race.

However, Pat said his biggest thrill to-date came in 2019 when his pigeon now named “Marathon Girl” won the 600ml Federation Race from Renmark being timed in the dark at 8pm on the day of liberation. Twenty days earlier this tough little hen won 2nd place from Peterborough a distance of 700ml in the “East Coast Long Distance Club” again being clocked in the dark at 7:10pm.

As far as the current season goes (as of the time of writing) Pat has won 2x1st and 2x2nd in the first 5 races with multiple birds to win.

When it comes to the stock loft and the number of stock birds kept, along with their bloodlines, Pat said that he keeps what many would say was a considerable number saying he houses about 90 cocks and approximately 120 hens. As a rule he said that he doesn’t breed from his stock until they are at least 2 years of age, and that when he does pair up he has no hesitation in pairing 1 cock to 2 different hens breeding around 250 young birds each year and generally will have around fifty 2 and 3 old birds left from previous years to add to this team.

As mentioned earlier, Pat purchased his first Bob Giltinan pigeons in 1987, these bird were very successful for many fanciers. During the years 1960 – 1983 these birds won for Bob Snr and his son Bob Jnr 756 Merit Card Prizes that included 252 x 1st Place and 93 Combine Prizes. In their first year of breeding they produced Pat’s first place winner of the “Queens Cup Federation All Age Derby” and today this bloodline is still very dominant in his breeding and race lofts.

As for his early Les Parkinson pigeons, they have long gone. In 1990, at the UK Louella Pigeon Stud auction sale at Parramatta in Sydney Pat purchased his first Jan Arrdens, they went on to produce many distance race winners, especially on hard 2 day races and while he no longer has any pure bred Arrdens in stock any longer many of his current distance birds are crosses with many having up to 50% Jan Arrden bloodlines in their pedigrees. Pat saying that the Arrdens have been very successful when crossed to his Harrison and Giltnan bred birds finding that the Harrison line were the ones that would continue on long hard days, flying well into the night.

With regards to the Harrison birds, Pat said that most came from the 1974 Herb Knoblauch sale and contain a lot of the S M Evans bloodlines that Pat believes contributes to this family of birds being able to become reliable “night flyers”.

Many fanciers, especially in Australia would be aware that the original Harrison birds were imported into Australia from the UK by the late Maximillian Foy in the early 1900’s, of course as the name implies the founder of this family was a fancier named George Harrison (nothing to do with the Beatles) of Oakamoor in the UK, and again most fancier’s would have heard of this family of pigeons as they, possible more than any other imported family of birds have had a large impact on Australian race results, especially at the distance, with many Australian families still carrying (to various degrees) small amounts of the “George Harrison” bloodline, with many of the top distance racing fanciers attributing their success to their attachment to the original “Harrisons” and Pat is certainly one of them.

Note: (Anyone wishing further information regarding the history of the Harrison bloodlines should read the two part article written by Daniel Pianto in the 2021 January/February issues of the ARPJ as it is a very informative read).

Anyway getting back to Pat. In 2008 Pat went to Belgium accompanied by club mates Vince Pedavoli and Steve Eggleton to visit the lofts of Wim Moens and between them purchased 25 birds that after a few years all ended up at Pat’s loft. Pat saying that they immediately became a successful crossed with his Giltnan family and were later used as a cross to his Harrison based family with equal results, with this cross producing Pat’s current favourite bird mentioned earlier that he named “Marathon Girl” in 2019.

Always looking to improve, Pat said that in recent times he has been trying a few Herman’s and Van Lindts birds that have hit it off with great success.

I asked Pat did he use an electronic timing system, and if so which one, to which Pat replied that he uses the Unikon timer and has been quite happy with it, having used it now for nearly 20years.

When asked about how he manages, feeds and trains his birds Pat implied that he doesn’t do anything special and probably nothing more or less that the average pigeon fancier does, saying that he trains the race birds around the loft twice each day mornings and afternoons for about 40min each time. In the early part of the season they are forced to fly for at least 30min, then brings the flag down and they can continue to fly if they wish, but I don’t encourage them to fly more than 1 hr.

When tossing commences, I will train them around the loft for 40min before placing them in the basket for a toss saying that the day the birds are tossed they do not exercise around the loft that afternoon.

I asked Pat about his loft with regards to which way it faces, and whether or not he sees his loft location as an advantage or not to which he replied that his loft faces northeast to catch the sun during most of the day especially in the mornings and that this direction also reduces the chance of cold wind and rain entering the loft. As far as his loft location within his club and federation goes Pat said that overall he is pretty well placed within his club, but when the federation fly’s the north-coast route he is disadvantaged by the eastern federation members.

When it comes to feeding his birds, Pat said they are fed twice each day after training and that he prefers to mix his own grains, with the ratio of grains fed being dependant on which route is being flown, but usually consists of 40% wheat, 25% peas, 20% corn, 5% safflower and the other 10% being made up of linseed, rape, millet, peanuts and sunflower. Generally I don’t vary the mix, but each month depending on the race conditions I may alter the amount fed along with the grain percentages and towards the end of the season, when the races are getting longer I will increase the corn and add a few more peanuts to the mix.

Maintaining a flock’s health is very important to most fanciers and Pat is no exception, saying that he follows a strict regime that includes mixing garlic and cod liver oil on the feed prior to feeding, especially during the colder winter months. Apple Cider vinegar and/or fresh lemons cut and squeezed are put in the water on a weekly basis, Inca Ornithon (vitamins) and Orego-Stim are also administered to the drinking water once a week.

On return from a race (for 1 or 2 day), Pat will add between 1 and 5 ml of hospital grade disinfectant to the drinking water as he believes this helps to eradicate e-coli, salmonella and streptococcus that may be picked up in the race baskets.

Further to the above Pat said that he generally treats once a month for worms, cocci and canker as a preventative measure, but less often if the weather has been sunny and dry.

Pat said that when he commences road training, that generally starts about 10 weeks before the first race they are only from a short distance of 2 to 3km and this gradually increase to 5, 10, 15, and 20km and then to a maximum of 40km. Once racing commences Pat said that he likes to toss once a week with the federation from a distance of 100 – 150km and if tossing on his own during the week no further than 40km and generally on the line of flight, however dependant on the weather he will “back toss” when required.

The race loft is cleaned every day and the floor and perches flame cleaned with a propane gas burner once a week depending on rain and damp weather.

I asked Pat how he selects his race team each week, asking does he split his race birds into teams or select them individually, and if so what does he base his selection on, to which he replied that he selects his team each week based on the overall look of each bird, their feather quality, along with how they feel in the hand, stating that they must feel light and blown out, show a single tail feather width, bright eyed and generally have that silky appearance, adding that with experience and knowing of your birds they will tell you when they are ready to go. With the younger birds, apart from that mentioned above Pat said he relies on the toss results in helping to determine which ones are ready to go.

When asked about whether or not he uses any motivational methods Pat replied that after the early races are finished and the federation commences basketing on a Thursday night for a Saturday liberation there’s no real planned motivational system used, adding that he races a natural system to mainly box perches where all the birds are together and that they can pair up if they so desire and that he is happy to race them to eggs and/or babies for the middle and long races.

Saying basically, especially for the short races, the birds are raced to their perch and once Thursday night basketing commences he fly’s a natural system as stated above as believing that due to the fact that we in Australia race during our winter months that the widowhood system wouldn’t work here, as it would also be compounded due to losses imposed by our huge predator problem. Pat adding that in 50yrs of racing he has not known of anyone to fly the widowhood system successfully in Australia, and as for the darking system Pat said he couldn’t comment for or against it due to not having tried it.

During his early pigeon days Pat said he would always hand feed his birds, but as life became busier with work and study commitments Pat had to revert to hopper feeding as his wife was happy to train the birds while he was away but would not hand feed them, but now that he is semi-retired he uses both methods dependant on the distance that the birds are required to fly.

The breeding season for Pat, generally commences around the beginning of spring being the end of August or early September, saying that any pairs that have produced winners during the race season are re-mated and only federation winners are put in stock. If a good stock cock or hen is getting too old Pat said that he will only breed for stock off these birds in their last few years, saying that as a rule he does not breed from yearlings. Breeding from old birds is something Pat says he tries to avoid, especially birds older than 10 yrs. of age, and where possible he tries to have the combined age of the pairings to be to be under 10yrs. of age, for example an old cock with a young hen and visa-versa.

Generally he says that he feeds the same mixture to the stock birds when breeding apart from adding more peas to the mix and that they have a hopper of food in front of them at all times.

When asked about introducing new bloodlines to the stock loft Pat said that he occasionally does so, referring back to what he said earlier when he said that basically his current family of birds started when he acquired his Harrisons in the late 80’s and 90’s, with the Giltnans being introduced in1987, the Jan Arrdens in 1990, the Wim Moens in 2009 and that these four blood lines were the base of his family for some considerable time, but to continually improve and to remain competitive in what is tough competition in not only his own club, but also the federation Pat in recent times has introduced some Herman/Ceusters and Van Lindt birds and is having success with these birds particularly in the early shorter races.

When it comes to breeding for the race team Pat said he prefers to cross two inbred families and if successful to ¾ bred youngsters back to either side of the original cross. For stock he will either line and/or inbreed and occasional will pair two fed winners together as long as they are compatible. On occasions Pat said that he has also bred winners in the race loft from love/random pairings.

I asked Pat what his thoughts were when looking for the best source to acquire new stock to add to the stock loft to which he replied by saying; “There are a lot of pigeon breeding studs out there today all trying to sell birds, unlike 50 years ago. The good fanciers would never part with their birds. If a top fanciers in your area is willing to part with some, he would be the best person to try and either buy a couple of stock birds or even a couple of young ones”. When looking for a bird for stock the first thing I look for is “balance, character, tight feathering, a good eye and this is before I have handled the bird. When I hold the bird in my hand and run my fingers down the keel, I want to feel a silky body and feather. The tail to come from a strong back into one tail feather. As my fingers continue to the vent bones I do not want to feel too big a space between the keel and the vent.

What I look for in the wing depends on if it is a sprint or distance bird. In distance birds I like to see a step from the secondary flight feathers to the primary flight feathers, along with a gap between the 8th, 9th and 10th primary flights with the flights not being too broad. I am not too interested in what type of eye a “racing pigeon” has, but for stock I like a good rich eye, the darker the better, I don’t like “pale” eyes, I prefer the old “gold, brown, yellow and violet” eyes. If I had to select from two identical birds for stock, I will always choose the pigeon with the richer eye, however, if the bird does not have the right body and feathering as described above, I won’t even look at the eyes.

When asked whether he thought bird losses are higher these days and if so why Pat said he thought the short answer is yes, saying that 40 years ago he could start the season with 140 pigeons, and that today he has found that he has to have double that number, adding that it was nothing for him to lose 3 or 4 young birds each week when exercising around the loft to either Goshawks or Peregrine Falcons. Pat is also of the opinion that the influx of pigeons from overseas that generally fly over heavily populated/residential areas may take some time to adjust to our conditions that see the pigeons having to navigate over many hundreds of kilometres of wilderness.

With regards to electronic disturbances from radar, mobile phones etc. Pat doesn’t believe that they play a big part, saying that he believes that inexperienced birds and poor preparation would be a bigger contributor to high losses, adding that there will always be fanciers that for one reason or another never have their birds properly prepared before the season starts. Losses are not new phenomena, but early tosses and races could be a big factor.

When asked what he thought could be done to ensure the future of pigeon racing and what he thought the biggest challenges facing the sport today were, Pat in some ways was of the same as many when asked this question, saying that he thought the biggest challenge was to try and entice young people to get involved, saying that he believes that in Australia we don’t do enough to advertise and promote the sport. Going on to say that a national forum that includes representatives from all the major federations along with those fanciers that have an interest in the future of the sport need to come together to develop both a short and long term plan.

If young people cannot be attracted to the sport, then the consideration and planning needs to be done to entice early retirees that not only would have the time required, but many have had pigeons in their youth with work and family commitments now not being so demanding. Another idea, that has been tried and to some extent successful in the USA is to invite retired friends and/or neighbours to join the club a social member where apparently some success has happened, with some of these starting out as flying as a junior member in partnership and/or being approached to join a syndicate in entering birds into a “One Loft Race”. As we know once the “bug” bites anything can happen.