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Paddleboarder rescues racing pigeon off Devon coast | Paddleboarder rescues racing pigeon off Devon coast |
(about 4 hours later) | |
An unlucky racing pigeon twice attacked by hawks has been rescued at sea by a paddleboarder. | An unlucky racing pigeon twice attacked by hawks has been rescued at sea by a paddleboarder. |
Tory Pigott was out with friends when she spotted the injured pigeon off Devon's south coast at Ladram Bay. | Tory Pigott was out with friends when she spotted the injured pigeon off Devon's south coast at Ladram Bay. |
The hapless bird had originally set off from Dorset a month before, but was found injured in Plymouth and nursed back to health and released again. | The hapless bird had originally set off from Dorset a month before, but was found injured in Plymouth and nursed back to health and released again. |
Ms Pigott traced the pigeon's original owner in Hertfordshire, who has sent a courier to collect the bird. | Ms Pigott traced the pigeon's original owner in Hertfordshire, who has sent a courier to collect the bird. |
She said: "We suddenly heard a flapping sound in the water and saw this pigeon desperately trying to crawl up the side of the rocks." | She said: "We suddenly heard a flapping sound in the water and saw this pigeon desperately trying to crawl up the side of the rocks." |
Ms Pigott jumped into the water to rescue the pigeon which was "completely sodden" and "distressed" with a cut to its neck. | Ms Pigott jumped into the water to rescue the pigeon which was "completely sodden" and "distressed" with a cut to its neck. |
She used the pigeon's identification number to trace the bird's owners, Ray Eccles and his son Brendan from Baldock, near Stevenage in Hertfordshire. | She used the pigeon's identification number to trace the bird's owners, Ray Eccles and his son Brendan from Baldock, near Stevenage in Hertfordshire. |
Brendan Eccles said the pigeon was released in a race from Blandford, Dorset, on 01 August and should have been home "in a few hours". | Brendan Eccles said the pigeon was released in a race from Blandford, Dorset, on 01 August and should have been home "in a few hours". |
He said the four-month-old pigeon could have become disoriented and headed in the wrong direction. | He said the four-month-old pigeon could have become disoriented and headed in the wrong direction. |
The pigeon was thought to have been attacked by a hawk before being found injured in a garden in Plymouth. | The pigeon was thought to have been attacked by a hawk before being found injured in a garden in Plymouth. |
Racing pigeon enthusiast Terry Luscombe, from Plymouth, looked after the bird for three weeks and "got him back to fitness" before releasing him on Monday to return to Hertfordshire. | Racing pigeon enthusiast Terry Luscombe, from Plymouth, looked after the bird for three weeks and "got him back to fitness" before releasing him on Monday to return to Hertfordshire. |
Mr Luscombe said it appeared from the cut to the pigeon's neck he had been the victim of a second hawk attack that resulted in him landing in the water. | Mr Luscombe said it appeared from the cut to the pigeon's neck he had been the victim of a second hawk attack that resulted in him landing in the water. |
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