On a small-holding on the outskirts of Wagin, Mr Stibbs houses about 150 birds in various lofts in his backyard.

He describes the wonderful colours of the pigeon – the blacks and browns, mosaics, blue checkers, strawberry reds and pied – how to handle a pigeon with a scissor-grip, and the importance of a good diet.

He talks about ‘yankee traps’, cunning devices which allow the pigeon to enter the loft on returning from a flight, but not to escape; and how the pigeons fight for their box, with the strongest seeking the top roosts.

The eyes are all important, pigeons have three eye lids and amazing sight, up to 30km, which helps them find their way home.

“I do feather and eye reading which can tell whether the bird will be a breeder or a racer.”

Each pigeon is identified with its own leg-ring with club and phone numbers and special birds may have more than one identification.

His beautiful birds cooing in their lofts are a pleasure to watch, however Mr Stibbs said, “the racing pigeon guy doesn’t breed for pretty colours,” and vice-versa.

To improve the standard and add new bloodlines, Mr Stibbs has, over the years, attended auctions of well-known pigeon breeders.

“I bought pure-blacks and grizzles from Frankie Bunter, a past well-known pigeon racer from WA,” he said.

Mr Stibbs keeps about 75 pairs of birds and breeds about 100 babies a year.

It all started 30 years ago when he had a few birds in a garden shed in Perth and belonged to the Canning Districts Racing Pigeon Club.

A highlight was winning the Carnavon Federation Race by five minutes in 1985, against breeders from 20 other clubs.

“I have raced from Perth to Mundrabilla and the Nullabor, some races taking two to three days,” he said.

“In October 2007 a bird of mine flew from Coral Bay to Ferndale, 1006km, coming third in the federation out of all clubs.”

Wagin used to have a pigeon club with six members but most have now left the district.

Mr Stibbs is trying to encourage juniors to take up the sport.

“I am prepared to give them a pair of birds free, but they must have a secure cage first,” he said.

“Pigeons don’t like our height, that’s why they go to the top perches. It’s also why juniors can do well in pigeon racing.”

He said training is a labour of love.

“Like a mother takes a child in a pram and they get to recognise landmarks, the pigeon starts by flying round and round the loft,” he said.

“I then take them 200 yards away to the town dam, then let them go from the top of Puntapin Rock.”

Gradually letting the pigeon go further and further away, Mr Stibbs trains them to return to their loft.

“They have to beat you home,” he says.

Although some people have bred night-fliers, most pigeons have poor night-sight.

“There could be 500 to 1000 pigeons returning from a race,” he said.

“The wind can play havoc and they need to find water; hawks can split the pigeons and you can lose 10 per cent in a race.”

There is some big money in pigeon racing around the world, but for Mr Stibbs it is the challenge of breeding a top pigeon.

“I’ve done archery, fishing, rugby, baseball and shooting but nothing can come close to pigeons - when you hold the babies and know you have bred them well and produced what you hope to be a winning bird,” he said.