Bolingbrook Bob will not claim to have the Flying Flight's that are sought by this website at this time.

Having looked at several other breeds and flown a few, I was repeatedly disappointed with the performance flying breeds, especially the Roller Pigeon. I love to watch good Rollers spin and the spirit of the bird is forever in my heart. I simply lack the discipline to train and control these oddities of nature.  This handicap is apparently unique to me, as the very best mentors are located here in the Chicago area. "If the spin is in your blood, it will never pass". True....but that alone, does not guarantee you will ever breed it, or fly it right. God bless all the Roller pigeon men and women who have tried to help me, but if I can't raise and fly their birds correctly without constant injury or death in addition to mother natures toll... I probably will not see much of those guys, or their birds around here.

The obsession for me...is still in the sky. The problem with Rollers is good performance birds don't last long enough to make it back to the breeding loft. It's very disappointing when a good bird, well on its way to full development, crashes as the result of trying to breed targeted abnormalities in that particular species. Worse yet....watching your favorite bird get hit by a hawk for behavior that mother nature deems defective or weak. Rolling, Tumbling, Diving, and posturing are obviously seen as hot lunch, to a bird of prey. So good bye to Rollers, Tumblers, and the like. It's difficult to gain superior bloodlines of any breed if you can't fly them out to term before selecting stock to breed back. Flying Flight's may be the answer for me. Allowing a territorial hawk to cull my flyers at a rate that I can out number may leave behind better flyers to breed. For me, the time must come when flying pigeons can be enjoyed daily, all year round. Unfortunately the reward for developing the ideal in a performing pigeon is a daily visit from one of mother natures gatekeepers.... and she will have no mercy.

The ever-increasing number of protected hawks will naturally cull my stock throughout the year. Removing these predators repeatedly is useless as new and possibly younger hawks will take their place. Since some hawks are territorial, I will select the bird of prey to condition my flyers. A large Red Tail will do a good job of keeping my birds alert and in shape without wiping out the whole bundle. In addition the Red Tail can help fend off younger, faster, and smaller rivals that move through my air space. So what else can be done about keeping a good pigeon up and performing without feeding the hawks? From this point on, I will not breed genetic oddities into any species for better performance or show. Instead, I will do whatever it takes to give the birds the edge to stay alive! The old timers tale of  hawk free D.D.T. days are gone forever. Protected hawks are over-running my post here in Illinois. They are bold, lean, hungry and will not hesitate to attack even if you are standing right there. The Coopers hawk is especially fast and nimble. Red Tails are a bigger, and little slower. Falcons are down right invisible, but the good news is... I never saw a pigeon escape and evade a hawk as often a healthy New York Flying Flight. A well conditioned Flight can out sprint, and out maneuver a hawk from a standing position. I see many of my birds do this consistently. I have birds that never get caught and others that have been snagged repeatedly but get away with half the tail feathers. I have seen entire generations fly and die each year, but some birds remain year after year untouched. I believe its more than luck, that these few are somehow different. If they can pass on the survival gene to others, then these birds are my choice for breeding.

Bolingbrook Bob