Racing pigeons plan off to flying start

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s just a bird, and Calvin Gall would like it to be a racing pigeon.

Gall is seeking a conditional use permit from the Town of Belgium to house as many as 70 racing pigeons at 6073 Lake Church Rd., where he is building a house.

The Plan Commission had a couple of major concerns at its July 19 meeting, primarily the noise from so many birds and their waste.

“They’re not like wild ones,” Gall said. “A lot of people have a misconception between wild ones and homing pigeons. When (racing pigeons) come out, they’re flying. You won’t hear them on the roof.”

Town resident Bob Hubing noted that volunteers two days earlier had cleaned several gravestones in St. Mary’s Cemetery across the street from Gall’s new residence and wondered if the birds would render their efforts useless.

Gall said the pigeons’ waste is dry ­— he plans to use it for compost in his garden — and the birds will be well trained.

“They’re very disciplined,” he said. “If they’re not, they get cut from the team.”

Gall said pigeon racing has been in his family for decades and there were no complaints from neighbors when he grew up in West Allis with “houses on top of each other.”

The Town of Belgium location, he said, is key to continuing his hobby.

“Ironically enough, (pigeon racing) started in Belgium (the country) so when I saw this lot in Belgium (the town) I told my wife, even though it’s a long commute for me because I work in Waukesha, we’ve got to try and get this because it’s just perfect living in Belgium,” Gall told the commission.

The birds were used during the world wars to carry messages from soldiers on the front lines to military bases.

Birds begin training 30 days after they’re born, Gall said. As with most animals, food is used as motivation.

Birds are left outside in a settling cage for a couple of weeks so they become familiar with their surroundings. Then they are let out to fly.

“They will take off but they won’t leave,” Gall said. “They’ll get up in a big circle, and when they’re done flying they’ll come down on a loft and come right back in.”

The pigeons’ endurance is built up over time.

“You won’t see them for an hour. I’ve had birds go 40 miles away and come back,” Gall said.

Then, road training starts. Gall puts the pigeons in baskets and drives them increasing distances away, starting with five miles, then 10, then 20.

“The first race is 100 miles away,” Gall said, drawing a few oohhs and aahhs from the meeting’s audience.

Races start at specified locations, from which pigeons are to fly home. An electronic band on their legs measures their speed.

“It’s not whose bird comes home first because somebody’s going to live closer (to the starting location),” Gall said.

The winning birds, he said, are the ones with the fastest average speed.

“They’ll race out 500, 600 miles,” Gall said.

Town Zoning Administrator Charlie Parks said Gall’s property is legal and not conforming. He will have about 20,000 square feet in a backyard that is bordered by a rural area behind it.

Parks said Gall approached him when he was looking at the property.

“He’s doing it the right way,” he said.

Commission member Matt Fuller asked if conditional use permits are reviewed each year. Parks said they are but most left alone unless the town receives a complaint.

Commissioners were fine with Gall’s plan as long as it doesn’t bother the neighbors, and they unanimously recommended the Town Board approve his conditional use permit.

A public hearing followed by a Town Board vote will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at Town Hall, 171 Main St. Sixteen neighbors have been notified of the public hearing, Clerk Ginger Murphy said.