A family have been left in a flap after a racing pigeon from 200miles away turned up inside their house and refused to leave. The winged visitor somehow managed to get into the utility room of the address in Marshfield, Cardiff this morning (Tuesday, August 9), since which time he's been acting like he rules the roost.
After calling the telephone number contained in a tag on the bird's leg the family discovered he had come all the way from Dagenham in East London. What is more, after asking the owner for advice about what to do they were told, "Just give him some seeds and water and let him rest - he'll come back home after a couple of days."
But as Evie Pardoe - the 17-year-old A'level student who found him - pointed out, time isn't on their side. "Pepa, our Labradoodle, has never really met a racing pigeon before," she said.
"So I'm not sure that leaving him in the back garden is a good idea or what Pepa's reaction would be to the new arrival. The pigeon's really tame too and nearly gave me a heart attack when I went into the utility room earlier and saw him just sitting there.
"I had to stifle a scream but he didn't seem too bothered. After a while he just popped out to have a stroll around the garden and now he's come back inside again."
Evie added that the bird's owner told her that the creature, who isn't thought to have a name, had taken part in a race in Dagenham on the weekend and was probably very tired and needing to recover. "He didn't seem very surprised to find out how far his pet had come but, as advised, we've given him some refreshments and will take him to a local bird rescue tonight.
"He can spend the rest of his holiday in Wales there until he gets up the strength to fly home to England. I'm afraid we just can't risk letting him stay in the garden for a couple of days, not with Pepa about."
Racing pigeons are normally very skilled in finding their way home, but some do occasionally stray off course. Indeed there's long been disagreement about how they navigate.
It's usual for owners to train them by transporting them ever further from their lofts before letting them go. In doing so they're known to use familiar landmarks such as rivers and motorways to help with the return journey.
The position of the sun is also used as an aid over longer distances. Meanwhile, some scientists argue that the magnetic field of the Earth can act as a compass.
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