You have pigeons that come home | And you have pigeons that want to come home.
That may sound the same, but to me there is a world of difference between the two.
In extreme long-distance racing, especially on races where darkness plays a role, an ordinary long-distance pigeon is often not enough. You need a different kind of pigeon. A pigeon with character, orientation, calmness in the head, and above all, the will to keep going when the light disappears.
Because a true night flyer does not fly only with its wings.
It flies with its heart.
The Magic of Darkness
When I became more and more focused on marathon racing, one thing became clear: I wanted pigeons that could not only come home under tough conditions, but also dared to arrive early. Not only when the sun rises again, but also when it is still dark and many pigeons are waiting out the night somewhere on a roof.
Night flying later became something of a trademark of the Schalkwijk pigeon.
Not every pigeon that can fly far is a night flyer.
And not every long-distance pigeon has the courage to keep going when darkness falls.
NL.15-1504048 – Lady in the Dark
If I have to name one pigeon that represents this story, it is of course Lady in the Dark.
She came from Laika Junior and Piccina Elite and grew into one of my very best marathon hens. In 2016, she won, among other results, 2nd National Sector 3 Perigueux and 19th National Orange, arriving at 00:21.
That arrival from Orange was not just another result for me.
It was a signal.
A pigeon that comes home in the middle of the night does something you cannot simply teach. Of course, you can train and prepare them, but that deep drive to keep going in the dark has to be inside the pigeon.
Later, Lady in the Dark also won 11th National St. Vincent and 16th National Pau. She was then crowned 1st European Marathon Hen 2017 and, after her racing career, became an important breeding hen.
For me, that is the foundation of breeding: not only looking at what a pigeon wins, but especially at what she passes on.
Breeding Starts With a Family
Many people think a strain is created by buying a few expensive pigeons. That is not how it works.
A strain is built through choices. Through observation. Through making mistakes. Through selection. And sometimes through one meeting that changes everything.
In 2010, I bought six youngsters for the overnight races. Of those six, no fewer than four became absolute foundation breeders, including Laika Junior, father of Lady in the Dark, Lady Richelle, mother of Orange Oil, and King of Queen, father of Orange Oil.
That was not coincidence, but it was not simple mathematics either.
Those lines brought what I was looking for: toughness, character, Barcelona blood, and the ability to keep going when things become difficult.
But blood alone is never enough.
You have to feel whether it fits your loft, your racing system, and your vision.
What Makes a True Night Flyer?
To me, a night flyer is not a pigeon that happens to come home late once.
A true night flyer has several qualities at the same time:
Orientation.
In the dark, many of the normal signals disappear. Then a pigeon must not panic, but keep searching and correcting.
Calmness in the head.
A nervous pigeon becomes uncertain in the dark. A good night flyer remains calm.
Perseverance.
When fatigue arrives, the pigeon has to choose: stop or continue. The true toppers keep going.
The right body type.
My preference has always been for strong, but not heavy pigeons. A night flyer needs power, but it should not be a Boeing.
Training and Selection
You cannot just “make” a pigeon into a night flyer.
What is not inside, you cannot bring out.
But what is inside, you can wake up.
My old birds were raced on the ZLU races with morning liberations. Yearlings and late youngsters were also raced on marathon races with afternoon liberations. They were trained seriously, but always with common sense.
Training must make the pigeon stronger.
Not empty it.
I have always said: the basket does not lie.
But the night lies even less.
A race with night arrivals shows qualities you sometimes do not see on a normal race. Not all pigeons that continue flying eventually reach their home loft. For that, exceptional orientation is needed.
And that is exactly what you select for.
Does he come home when things become difficult?
Mr. Mollema
Besides Lady in the Dark, Mr. Mollema was also important in my understanding of night flying.
He was clocked from Orange 2016 at 22:57, when darkness had almost completely fallen, and later, from Orange 2017, he arrived home at 03:34 during the night.
Those are moments you never forget.
You stand there in the dark.
Everything is silent.
You hear something.
You look.
And suddenly, a pigeon drops onto the loft.
That is when you remember why you never truly let go of this sport.
My Vision
A night flyer is not bred by coincidence.
And you do not buy one just because “Barcelona” is written on a pedigree.
You have to know what you are looking for:
character
orientation
proven family
the will to keep going
Pigeons such as Lady Richelle, Lady in the Dark, Orange Oil, and Double Barcelona were so important to me because that behaviour came back in the family and in the offspring.
Because a good racer is wonderful to own.
But a good breeder changes your loft.
A pigeon that comes home in the dark has something extra.
Call it character.
Call it instinct.
Call it quality.
I call it: the true soul of the marathon pigeon.
And believe me: anyone who has ever seen a real night flyer drop onto the loft in the middle of the night will never forget it.
That is not just a result.
That is goosebumps.
Until the next blog,
Gerard Schalkwijk
Schalkwijk Speaks
