RWT,Jr. - My Pigeon Interests

Robert W. Tauscher, Jr.
Pigeon Interests

My Pigeon Breeds
Dragoons | Racing Pigeons | Domestic Flights
Parlor Tumblers | Clean-leg Ice Pigeons
Komorner Tumblers

I have been infatuated with pigeons since young childhood. Every trip to my grandmother's home in Holyoke, Massachusetts was highlighted by visits to the little park at the end of her block where we fed the pigeons.

As a paper boy for the Paterson Evening News, I was thrilled to discover that one of the stops on my route had a pigeon coop -- I believe the birds were rollers. My parents always marveled (in frustration) about how long it could take for me to deliver about 20 newspapers. Somehow I found myself mesmerized by those feathered marvels.

My attempts to have pigeons as a child were thwarted by my parents. I expect they didn't want to get stuck taking care of extra pets -- not to mention that I am the oldest of 8 and finances could be challenging.

My interest in pigeons lay mostly dormant for years. I loved seeing them whenever I could, but through high school, college, and seminary there was no opportunity to pursue this goal. During my Senior year in college, I remember visiting a friend's room and seeing for the first time that marvelous book "The Pigeon" by Wendel Levi. In the following weeks I read that book from cover to cover. I will always be grateful to John Kaiser for being so patient with me while I read and read and read. During the ensuing weeks I started designing and drawing cages and coops for the pigeons I wished I could have.

My first church was Zion Lutheran Church in rural Ridgeville Corners, Ohio. Occasionally when visiting on a farm I would find they had a pigeon coop and the desire for pigeons would get another boost. I was becoming rather focused on getting pigeons -- any kind of pigeons -- please, please just let me have a couple of pigeons -- when my good friend and former college roommate Ted Rellstab remarked that if I was serious about getting pigeons I had to see the pigeons of a guy in his church before doing anything else. Ted hadn't seen them, but had heard that they were supposed to be real good. One evening while visiting at Ted's, he called this guy and arranged for us to go over and see the birds. Minutes later I met Harold Groll, then President of the American Dragoon Club, and started a guided tour of his loft where we saw his marvelous champion Dragoons. Before I left, Harold offered to give me a pair of Dragoons after breeding season was over. I remember commenting, interested but non-committally, that I'd think it over. Well, pigeon-fever struck hard! I was just trying to figure how to explain this one to Michaela, my wife, when Harold called telling me to pick up my birds. Wow! I had to put him off while I negotiated this one with Michaela. Negotiations were concluded with the agreement that I could have a pair of pigeons for a trial period -- my offer, her concession.

Perhaps needless to say, raising and exhibiting Dragoons has been my major hobby since the day Harold Groll gave me my first pair of Blue Checks. Harold soon became my Dragoon mentor, gladly spending hour after hour explaining the various structural features of winning Dragoons and really giving me a wealth of information that got me started and continues to guide me today. Soon Harold gave me a second pair (Blue Grizzle cock and Blue Bar hen). The next thing I knew, Harold introduced me to his friend Tom Barnhart, Lima, Ohio. Tom soon presented me with a gift - my third pair of Dragoons (Mealy cock and Silver Bar hen). Tom took the time to patiently answer every pigeon genetic question I could come up with regarding colors and patterns (believe me, there were many) and is responsible for encouraging my strong interest in developing rare colors in Dragoons. I joined the American Dragoon Club in 1985 and have been a member since, serving first as Assistant Publicity Director, then succeeding Paul Steiden as Publicity Director. I have been President of the ADC since 1994.

My pigeon interests expanded to include Racing Pigeons when I moved to New Jersey, November 1995 to be the Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Palisades Park. Due to ordinance difficulties, my Dragoons were housed at the home of Frank Zumpano. Frank quickly became a very good friend and we raced as partners out of his Overpeck Loft. I still use the name Overpeck Loft to refer to my Racing Pigeons in memory of my very kind and generous friend. As a member of the North Hudson Racing Pigeon Club, North Bergen, NJ, I soon became Recording Secretary and served in that capacity from 1988 through November, 1995 when I moved to Springfield, PA to become Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church.

While living in New Jersey I met and became good friends with John Thornton who started me with Domestic Flights -- mostly barred birds. The best Flights at most shows are Yellows, Yellow Teagers, Reds, and Red Teagers. Working with barred birds is a huge challenge because most are not even close to the quality of the Reds and Yellows. Thanks to John I have some pretty good ones and intend to expand a bit in the near future.

I also keep a few Parlor Tumblers. These have proven to be terrific for my kids to play with - especially because they can show them to friends with no fear of them flying away.

Pigeon color genetics is one of my real interests and Joe Powers caught my attention with the many rare colors he has introduced into his Komorners. I have worked with rare Komorners since about 1993, though I don't show them. These beautiful birds are a constant source of joy as they produce rare colored after rare colored bird. The challenge here is to continue upgrading the quality of these pretty pigeons so that they are competitive with the standard colored Komorners.

Back in the late 80's or early 90's Mike Lerp wrote an article for the American Pigeon Journal about Clean-leg Ice Pigeons and the pictures intrigued me. Later that winter I saw Mike's display of Ice at the Reading Winter Show -- the color captivated me and I have been a fan since. Mike sold off his Ice Pigeons before I had opportunity to purchase any, so I purchased a very nice pair from Randy Wildschutt in January 1996 that had been raised from birds acquired from Mike - a Barless cock and a White Bar hen. I am thrilled with them and anticipate enjoying them for many years.