Gary Miller's love affair with pigeons began when he found an injured bird.
Hundreds of show pigeons are expected to flock to Camp Verde this weekend.
Miller was 12 years old when, while running errands with his dad on cold winter evening, he chased down an injured feral pigeon and smuggled it home in the sleeve of his jacket.
Cruising the alley behind his house he scavenged enough wood to build a small cage, in which he nursed the bird back to health.
Since then he has owned hundreds of pigeons including racers, tumblers, rollers and pouters. He eventually got a Boy Scout Merit Badge for pigeon husbandry, educated himself on the ins and outs of showing the various breeds and got a difficult lesson
Miller is now 64 years old. He is the president of the Arizona Pigeon Club, an organization that is older than he is. He is also a nationally known expert on many of the over 600 domesticated breeds and a much-sought-after judge for pigeon shows throughout the country.
This Saturday, Dec. 4, Miller and dozens of other pigeon aficionados, will descend on the Camp Verde Community Center for the 68th annual Arizona Pigeon Show.
"This is our big event for the year and a wonderful opportunity for anyone who has thought of pigeons as flying rats to come and experience them for the spectacular birds they really are," Miller says.
Gary Miller, here serving as judge, is president of the Arizona Pigeon Club.
The show will take place in the gymnasium, located at Main Street and Hollamon streets, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
According to the show's organizer, Brandee Barr-Brown, there will be at least 450 pigeons of various breeds.
"There will be about 300 Modenas and about 150 other birds of various breeds," Barr-Brown says.
Miller says visitors can expect to see many of the fancy breeds, including Indian fantails and its scaled down versions Mindian fantails. There will also be some of the racer/homers, some of a wide-eyed breed called owls (African, Italian, German and Chinese), and perhaps a Mookie or two.
And there will be at least 300 Modenas, a big round breed, nearly the size of a chicken that has become one of the most popular breeds of show pigeons.
"Anyone coming to the show will have an opportunity to buy a bird if they are interested in starting a new hobby," Miller says.
This is the fifth year in a row the Arizona Modena Club has showed in Camp Verde and the third year in a row for the Arizona Pigeon Club.
"We combined our events a few years ago. When it comes to pigeon shows, the more the merrier," Barr-Brown says.
Source: Camp Verde Bugle
