160609 Egyptian Swift Male gone after 1st time outside

160609 Egyptian Swift Male gone after 1st time outside
It's been 2 hours and I'm worried. 
For 8 years, I had two lesbian Pigeons.

Now I have a ménage à trois, ... Cleopatra and the new M/F Egyptians.
Two weeks ago she laid 2 eggs and all three sat on the nest, taking turns.
I've had the new Egyptians 1 month so decided to set them free outside, very first time in his 3 year life free outside.
Since he had 2 wife's, food, water, shelter, etc he would consider this "Home" and would stick around (They usually do).
. . He sat outside next to the aviary for quite a while eating, drinking, and taking a bath, then flew a circle in the yard, then up to a tree and sat there a long time.

THEN he flew in a very large circle over the house at a fairly high altitude...
then headed west. ...... been gone nearly 2 hours.. Still a GOOD chance he will return ??? But.. less than 100 miles west is where he was hatched... flew back there??
(Still waiting an hoping).

160602c 2731 Pigeon nesting material sticks Female Egyptian Swift
160609d 2731 Pigeon Male Egyptian 1st time outside
160609f 2731 Pigeon Male Egyptian 1st time outside
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160517 - FB post - 160514= two new Egyptian Swifts, New Ulm

160517 - FB post - 160514= two new Egyptian Swifts, New Ulm
With good luck, it was a success.
 
Cost me $400 but managed to buy two Egyptian Swift Pigeons (includes cost of car repair) at the bird sale. 1yo male, 3yo Female.  Was paying for them when two others wanted to buy them, almost missed out.
. . 4,000 year old breed but they are rare anywhere but Egypt. First in USA in 1980, still rare here. They are high flyers (600ft) up to 60mph and have some homing ability (100 miles).
. . Not sure how this is going to work out, but now Cleopatra has some company.

PIC = 160516f 2731 Pigeons New Egyptian Swifts.JPG
160516b 2731 Pigeons New Egyptian Swifts and Cleopatra.JPG
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New Ulm Hermann Statue - Bird and small animal swap Egyptian Swifts.

 160516 (160514) New Ulm Hermann Statue.

 
It was cold and SOooo windy, Simon decided to take the stairway to the top.

New Ulm Minnesota - 100 foot Hermann the German Statue.

. . We were in New Ulm for a "Bird and small Animal Swap". ... some good news and some bad news (next post).

Pics 160514q New Ulm Herman Stature Simon.JPG
160514p New Ulm Herman Stature Simon.JPG
160514g New Ulm Herman Stature Simon.JPG
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160516 Cleopatra Egyptian Swift Pigeon follows me everywhere.

Cleopatra Egyptian Swift Pigeon seems to be over missing her husband Nile. A dramatic change. She now follows me around like a puppy. Never more than a few feet behind me.
. . For two and a half years would never come in the house. Now she insists on being inside with me on my lap .. or outside with me, follows me everywhere. Calls to me if I'm not nearby. Up till now she never spoke at all. I think I'm in love ~:<)
. . Also, soon, more Egyptian Swift developments ~:<)



Video 160516 2731 FR Pigeon Egyptian Swift following me Cleopatra.MP4
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141123 Pigeons Egyptian Swift

NAMING CEREMONY today ... My two beautiful Egyptian Swift Pigeons
Meet Cleopatra (Cleo), and Nile, a matched pair.
I won them at a pigeon show recently and I'm thrilled to have them.
. . Egyptian Swifts have been bred in Egypt for 4,000 years but only introduced to the rest of the world in 1925. They are still rare outside of Egypt.
. . They are sleek and small, 10", 3/4 pound but have a 30" wingspan.
. . They are similar to Homers in performance, up to 60mph, but only have homing abilities of about 50 miles vs Homers many hundreds, and they fly quite high, 600 feet for 2 to 4 hours then return home.
. . Cooper Hawks and Falcons are their biggest threat but they have learned to make abrupt maneuvers and can usually survive an attack (I hope).
. . They are very gentle and calm birds, very beautiful, I'm in love. Just today I finished their quarters in the outdoor aviary. I won't release them to fly for a few months, to make sure they know where home is.