I have been breeding and racing pigeons since 1958. I remember like it was yesterday the first pigeon I ever bought for 75 cents; a little blue check hen I called “Angel.” Our present family of birds was established in 1982 for the purpose of furthering and improving the sport. I am now into the fourth decade of striving toward the goal of excellence in our unique hobby.

Flying loft (left) with 12 widowhood nestboxes and 60 young bird perches.
Breeding loft (right) has 32 nest boxes for 16 pairs.

I have visited many of the big name feather merchants and unknown local champions in the United States and Europe searching for perfection in racing pigeons. I attended the Blackpool Show in England and the 24th Annual Olympiad in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I was one of the first Americans outside of his close circle of friends to visit Mike Ganus' loft in Holland. I have been in the lofts of Tournier, Daelemans, H&O and Manders, to name a few. Each trip was a learning experience that will stay with me. In addition, over the years I have attended many of the auctions held in the New York City area by some of the most famous lofts in Europe. I have handled and considered a large number of the best pigeons Europe and the U.S. has to offer, adding specimens to our colony that are prepotent and originate from lofts with top records.

After several job transfers, I set up our loft here on a 16-acre site in northwest New Jersey. We had great young bird and old bird seasons after 6 years of sitting on the sidelines. Flying under Cornella Family Loft (pigeons are truly a family affair around here), we won 1st Central Jersey Combine (CJC), 300 miles against 3,013 young birds, beating the next closest bird by more than 30 minutes. This was the highlight of my pigeon racing career. We also won 8th, 9th and 10th combine against thousands of birds, 17th Northeast Union Race vs. 4,570 old birds, and many other futurity, combine and club diplomas, as well as other impressive prizes including IF Hall of Fame (1994 and 1996) and American Ace Pigeon Award (1994 and 1996). Considering that the CJC is the largest, and perhaps the most competitive combine, in the US, and that our loft location is a major disadvantage -- short and northernmost end flying into prevailing northwest winds -- I was pleased with my re-entry into competitive racing..

Our achievements in one of the toughest combines in the US are remarkable since we compete with small teams (7 widowhood cocks and 15 young birds) against thousands of competitors. Because our family and work schedules demand a lot of time, little road work is given our birds; in fact our widowhood cocks rarely see the training basket the entire season and race well week after week. In spite of all these handicaps, we have produced excellent performances.

In 1999, I decided to stop competing at the local and combine level. For a while at least. To be a competitive racer is an all consuming task that takes away too much time from the family, as my son aptly pointed out to me. I found myself arriving home from my job, briefly greeting my family and rushing out to the loft to exercise and care for my birds. One night, my youngest son Simon, whose innocent candor is quite refreshing, said to me, "Dad, you love your pigeons more than you love me." Of course, this is not true, but he certainly made me think about what my priorities were and where they should be. Children grow up and leave the family nest all too quickly. I decided what spare time I had would be focused on my family and what was leftover would go to the birds. Once the children leave the nest there will be time enough to race pigeons again. Sometimes it takes the words of a child to make you see the light.

In the interim, I am content to send a few birds to a futurity here and there, and to sell birds to fanciers across the country at fair, affordable prices. I raise about 60 young birds a year and in the past, I sold half of what was raised and kept half to fly. Today, all are offered for sale except for a select few that are held back for our breeding program. This policy is advantageous to prospective buyers of my stock. Since my focus is on breeding for the market, I engage in a lot of line breeding and to some extent inbreeding to produce breeding stock rather than flying stock.

I am proud to say that although I have a relatively small loft and have only sold between 20 to 30 birds a year, an amazingly high percentage of fanciers who have purchased my stock have done extremely well. I will even go out on a limb and say that there are few lofts in this country that can match on a percentage basis the number of diploma winners emanating from my loft. This includes the big studs that sell hundreds and thousands of pigeons a year.

I value the relationships I have made with fanciers who have purchased my birds. I have helped many people, particularly beginners and seniors getting back into the sport, with stock that has made them competitive. After all, no one wants to be at the bottom of the sheet and you can't climb to the top unless you have excellent pigeons. Your relationship with me doesn't end when I ship your birds. I want you to be successful with my stock and I back up what I deliver with friendly, helpful service. I am more than happy to share the knowledge accumulated over the years regarding medications, training, breeding, and the like. Any time you need advice, just send an e-mail. I get many e-mail messages from new flyers with all sorts of questions. I attempt to follow through on every inquiry in a timely fashion.

In closing, let me say I've made friends across the USA, Europe, South Africa, and Asia through the sport. Those of you who purchased birds from me in the past know that nothing goes out of this loft that I would not keep for myself. I pride myself on the quality of my birds and my personal integrity. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

All the best,