Unfortunately due to the sickness in the birds and then getting Covid I haven't managed to get the birds prepared as much as I'd have liked and they have only had 2 x 20mile trainers but as I really wanted to send to our longest race I needed to take a punt and just get them going.
With that in mind three weeks ago I sent 9 birds to Kettering which is 106miles to me, it was a tricky race for everyone but by nightfall I had 8/9 home which I was pretty satisfied with even though I was just over 100ypm behind the winner, I was the 6th member of 8 to clock and being as the other members had already had two races I wasn't too upset with that. Our next race which should have been Leicester, a jump of just 18miles to 124miles was cancelled but the powers that be decided to leave the next race as it was which would now be a jump of 44miles to 152miles from Ilkeston which is our longest race. I had 3 hens that went to Kettering lay during the week leading up to the race so decided to leave them behind but instead decided to put in 3 first timers. Again with a fairly strong South West wind in their beaks it turned out to be a tough race with many birds still missing by nightfall, I was again off the pace with the first of my birds arriving after 4.31 minutes recording a velocity of 985ypm. By the time I went to the club I only had 3/8 and none of the first timers but this turned out to be the case for most members with probably just under half of the birds sent still missing. The really strange thing about races like this is that across several organisations birds flying from the North to the South from several different race points into that head wind some birds were still recording velocities into the 1400s, I have to say not that many as the velocities soon dropped away. The winner in our club was the same fancier who won the previous race who was doing 1296ypm, the 2nd bird on the sheet was doing 1291ypm but by the time the 11th bird was clocked they were down to just over 1000ypm !!! I was 16th club and the 6th member from 7 to clock, I was a bit disappointed my birds were that far behind especially with the wind as it was but considering the preparation they've had I can't really expect too much. I did get 2 more birds back before 10am yesterday morning including 1 of the first timers so I'm reasonably pleased with that but would like to see the others return. We now have a revised programme with the next two races being from Bovingdon 60miles. The 5 I got last weekend probably won't race for a couple of weeks now but I do have the other 5 that will.
Sorry if that was a bit long winded :
all the best.
the one that had flown Ilkstone and one of the strays 
☹ I had another return during the evening, this was one that returned a week late from Ilkstone. I had nothing else back on Tuesday but yesterday I found two more home when I got in from work, one that had recovered from PMV and the other stray 
☹) during the evening I had another return, this was a little Chequer hen of Busters 
I now have 7/11 back, hopefully I'll get a couple more yet 
