Well the winter has been a mild one so far for us here in Ontario and I hope the same for all of you. I have, for the most part, sorted out the birds I am keeping and have somewhat of an idea of how I will be pairing. Although, having said that, I usually change the combinations several times. 9 pairs should do fine for a single round with maybe a pair or two going to a second set of youngsters for stock.
Raja Usman has been awarded the FANCIER of THE YEAR 2024. One only has to look at the dedication to flying with the number of competitions he entered last year and trophies won. Then look again at some of the great flying times he has delivered – toping off with an 18 plus hour time. Well earned and certainly well deserved. Congrats Raja.
I hope the rest of the members make a concerted effort to do the same this year. I don’t mean fly ten times per year but at least give it one try for the season. It was, after all, our 40th anniversary and most of you made no attempt at all. So I’m asking again, FLY YOUR BIRDS! I truly tried, but once again couldn’t make it to fly day because falcon losses left me with a kit of only two. But, you can bet I will be at it again and will make every effort to see you in the air 2025.
The feature article for this edition of our newsletter is THE BODEN TIPPLER. Something that started out as a result of Mick Camplin’s passing turned into a full blown BODEN SPECIAL. As most of you know Mick was a well known flier from England with numerous fly times of over 20 hrs. Many of you may also know Mick only kept the Boden strain of tippler from Jack Boden. Unfortunately as I prepare this newsletter we lost yet another Englishman who also kept only the Boden Tippler by the name of Tony Billings. Tony was also a top man when it came to flying tipplers. What a loss to the tippler world in the span of only a few months.
Therefore, in light of such sad news, I decided to gather as much information on the Boden tippler in celebration of the legends that cherished the Boden birds such as Mick and Tony but especially the man himself, Jack Boden. I would like to acknowledge and thank Raj K, Davey Warrener and Manfred Biringer for helping me out with information on the Boden birds. A special thanks to Stan Ogozalek for providing the photos to the articles that otherwise would not be half as interesting without them. Thank you Raj, Davey, Manfred and Stan!
I ASK THAT NONE OF “THE BODEN TIPPLER” ARTICLE PAGES BE SHARED ON ANY SOCIAL PLATFORM WITHOUT MY CONSENT. This is the perk for being a member of the CNTU and will be shared in time on the CNTU website. It took many, many hours of effort and research and I don’t want it posted randomly by anyone and everyone without the club being properly credited.
In the April newsletter we will have Raja’s BODEN IMPORTS as the feature with photos and a write-up on his dealing with Mick and Tony during the process of importing the birds into Canada a few years back in 2017.
Winter them well…champions they may become.
Luka
