MONTICELLO - On a farm in rural Monticello, soft cooing comes from an aged red building. Occasionally, a slight thump can be detected, accompanied by the heavy sound of flapping wings shifting wind, akin to the noise a high-powered fan makes when switched on and off quickly.
Though the land belongs to local resident Calvin Wasserstrass, trainer Gary Davison is responsible for the snow-white pigeons housed in the building.
Racing pigeons is a nearly a life-long hobby for Davison. A native of Sun Prairie, he became interested in the birds known for returning home in 1964 when he began attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
"(My cousin) had racing pigeons over by Milwaukee," Davison said. "We both went to Platteville as freshmen, and he thought, 'Oh man, got to recruit, get more people into the sport, into the hobby.'"
Davison was a part of a Madison-area racing club until 1976. For him, the hobby began with a male and female pigeon bred to produce new racing birds. Davison has new pigeons each year, roughly 100, all registered nationally with a $2 band that provides an identifying number.
A white pigeon could be found on a lawn in West Virginia sporting a colored band and be traced back to him, Davison said.
Each nest produces two eggs. Once born, chicks are completely dependent on parental care, taking roughly 30 days to reach the size of their mother. Most live to be at least 10 years old, though some are lost either to predatory hawks or raccoons.
"You always lose some," Davison said, noting that in June a raccoon killed roughly 25 small ones.
Clubs gather throughout Wisconsin to spend time on the sport of racing pigeons. Unions exist throughout the country dedicated to raising pigeons ready to be released hundreds of miles from home, only to make it back within a day or two days' time.
Training can involve hours of driving. Davison has released his birds along roads roughly 40 miles away from the home coop, but also takes trips to communities near St. Louis, Missouri, to set the feathered racers free, watching them ascend before heading back north.
Racing is timed, tracking how long it takes the birds to reach the property from where they were released hundreds of miles away. Prizes are given to the winners.
A portion of each day is spent driving the 8 miles from his Monticello home to Wasserstrass' farm at 8 a.m. to let his pigeons fly. While Wasserstrass' son AJ helped Davison with these tasks when he was young, the boy grew up and grew less interested. Now, Calvin Wasserstrass helps Davison by feeding and flying the pigeons at supper time.
While the birds fly home if he lets them go many miles from their point of origin, the pure white flyers simply circle over the farm when they are released daily.
The twice-a-day process keeps the birds strong but also ensures that they will return by promising safety and a meal.
"Because you have food and shelter; that's why you go home," Davison said. "They're the same way. They want to be where they get their food, shelter and water."
While he restarted his hobby in 1998, pigeons were not a priority for him for two decades after he moved to the Monticello area.
Training became less important as time passed following college. Davison married Anna Marie and the couple had two daughters, Beth and Lynn, and a son, Alan. The daily tasks of the farm demanded his time before, during and after the sun hung in the sky. The dairy operated from 1976-1996 in rural Monticello near Washington Reformation Church.
Davison never wandered far from the world of pigeon-raising. When his daughter Beth requested a pet, or at least a hobby to keep her busy in 1986, he passed his knowledge to her, though she never flew the birds in the same way.
Despite his wife's lack of interest, Davison returned to the world of racing pigeons in 1998, when he joined the Rock River Racers, until 2002. After that, he simply kept releasing the flyers to prove to himself that he raised them well.
"It's something I really like, it's my hobby," Davison said. "The fact that they can fly from St. Louis to here in six hours - you don't know how much pride that makes in you."
Though the land belongs to local resident Calvin Wasserstrass, trainer Gary Davison is responsible for the snow-white pigeons housed in the building.
Racing pigeons is a nearly a life-long hobby for Davison. A native of Sun Prairie, he became interested in the birds known for returning home in 1964 when he began attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
"(My cousin) had racing pigeons over by Milwaukee," Davison said. "We both went to Platteville as freshmen, and he thought, 'Oh man, got to recruit, get more people into the sport, into the hobby.'"
Davison was a part of a Madison-area racing club until 1976. For him, the hobby began with a male and female pigeon bred to produce new racing birds. Davison has new pigeons each year, roughly 100, all registered nationally with a $2 band that provides an identifying number.
A white pigeon could be found on a lawn in West Virginia sporting a colored band and be traced back to him, Davison said.
Each nest produces two eggs. Once born, chicks are completely dependent on parental care, taking roughly 30 days to reach the size of their mother. Most live to be at least 10 years old, though some are lost either to predatory hawks or raccoons.
"You always lose some," Davison said, noting that in June a raccoon killed roughly 25 small ones.
Clubs gather throughout Wisconsin to spend time on the sport of racing pigeons. Unions exist throughout the country dedicated to raising pigeons ready to be released hundreds of miles from home, only to make it back within a day or two days' time.
Training can involve hours of driving. Davison has released his birds along roads roughly 40 miles away from the home coop, but also takes trips to communities near St. Louis, Missouri, to set the feathered racers free, watching them ascend before heading back north.
Racing is timed, tracking how long it takes the birds to reach the property from where they were released hundreds of miles away. Prizes are given to the winners.
A portion of each day is spent driving the 8 miles from his Monticello home to Wasserstrass' farm at 8 a.m. to let his pigeons fly. While Wasserstrass' son AJ helped Davison with these tasks when he was young, the boy grew up and grew less interested. Now, Calvin Wasserstrass helps Davison by feeding and flying the pigeons at supper time.
While the birds fly home if he lets them go many miles from their point of origin, the pure white flyers simply circle over the farm when they are released daily.
The twice-a-day process keeps the birds strong but also ensures that they will return by promising safety and a meal.
"Because you have food and shelter; that's why you go home," Davison said. "They're the same way. They want to be where they get their food, shelter and water."
While he restarted his hobby in 1998, pigeons were not a priority for him for two decades after he moved to the Monticello area.
Training became less important as time passed following college. Davison married Anna Marie and the couple had two daughters, Beth and Lynn, and a son, Alan. The daily tasks of the farm demanded his time before, during and after the sun hung in the sky. The dairy operated from 1976-1996 in rural Monticello near Washington Reformation Church.
Davison never wandered far from the world of pigeon-raising. When his daughter Beth requested a pet, or at least a hobby to keep her busy in 1986, he passed his knowledge to her, though she never flew the birds in the same way.
Despite his wife's lack of interest, Davison returned to the world of racing pigeons in 1998, when he joined the Rock River Racers, until 2002. After that, he simply kept releasing the flyers to prove to himself that he raised them well.
"It's something I really like, it's my hobby," Davison said. "The fact that they can fly from St. Louis to here in six hours - you don't know how much pride that makes in you."