Posted on Tue, Dec. 01, 2009

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Wayward pigeon flying home — by plane

BY BECCY TANNER

The Wichita Eagle

As migratory routes go, this one took four years and covered 1,700 miles.

It began four years ago when a wayward racing pigeon took flight from Chuck Miller's loft near Haysville.

"He was a young bird," said Miller, who has been racing pigeons for a decade. "Sometimes they just flat out take off the first time you let them out and they never come back."

Such was the case this time.

Miller, 63, thought a hawk might have chased the pigeon off.

"In this sport, you lose birds," he said."... That bird hadn't been named yet. He didn't do anything memorable."

Except fly.

On Nov. 16, Olene Sparks from Point Richmond, Calif. went out on her deck on the shores of San Francisco Bay and noticed a white pigeon looking "a bit perplexed."

"He did not fly away. He wanted to follow me into the house. I closed my screen door and said 'No, No.' After an hour and a half, I gave it water and corn bread."

She began making phone calls and tracking down people who might know how to care for pigeons. In the process, she took the bird in and named him Cirrus.

She noticed he had a blue band on his right leg that said "WICHITA, KS" and a serial number.

She and her friends went to the Internet and located the Wichita Friendly Pigeon Flyers Club, which eventually led her to Chuck Miller.

She is returning the bird to Miller byspecial delivery — by plane — through the U.S. Postal Service. Cirrus is expected to arrive today.

"I couldn't believe someone would take the time and effort," Miller said. "For most people, these are nasty old pigeons."

The bird's journey has attracted media coverage, and that hasn't been easy for Miller.

"I'm kind of a private person," he said. "This bird, he opened up a can of worms for me. But like my wife, Verna, said, 'It's so nice to hear a good story instead of a murder.'

And what will become of Cirrus after he returns to Haysville?

"He's breeding stock," Miller said. "He will be a prisoner. I'm kind of scared to let him out again with the situation he caused. He has been a popular bird and I wouldn't want to take another chance of letting him go."

As for Sparks, she said she has mixed feelings about letting her new-found friend return to Kansas.

"For it to reach California, it had to have crossed the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Mountains and gone over Utah," she said. "When it arrived here, it had no mites. It was in good shape. It was really sweet, nice and friendly.

"Some people thought it should have been granted asylum in California. I was assured this owner had a good loft. I want to keep track of this bird and know about his welfare. I feel responsible."

Reach Beccy Tanner at 316-268-6336 or btanner@wichitaeagle.com.