What is a white dove release?
In a traditional white dove release at least 12 trained white doves are set free from a white wicker basket on special occasions, such as birthdays, weddings, funerals, memorials, graduations, and other special events. Our trained professional dove handlers release the doves at the end of the wedding or funeral ceremony or a the church steps. The wedding couple may release one or two of the doves. In a funeral, the family members may choose to release some of the doves followed by the rest of the flock. In a birthday celebration, the child may release one or all the doves. In some celebrations, a select group of participants each holds and releases the doves at a given signal. How long does the dove release last? Our white birds do not linger. When the doves are released they fly high around in the sky as they search for their way home. This may take up to 5 minutes or less. Once they find their bearings, they head straight home. We do not want the birds to linger or mingle with the crowd for their safety!
How do the doves find their way home? We use snow white homing pigeons that are born with a highly developed homing instinct that allows them to return home from as far as 600 miles at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. White homing pigeons are larger and more visible than the smaller white ring neck doves. We train the young birds to fly home when they are about six weeks old. First they learn to get outside their loft and get inside the through a trap door on their own. Then we release them about five miles from their loft and gradually increase the distance by five miles from different directions until their homing instinct is fully developed.
Are the birds released white doves?
No. White ring neck doves, which you can purchase at a bird shop or pet shop near you, do not have a homing instinct and should not be released for their safety. We only release white homing pigeons, which have a highly developed homing instinct and can find their way home from as far as 600 miles! The homing pigeons we use are a special variety of white Pletinckx (play-tinks), which were first released in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Walt Disney acquired some pricey Belgian Pletinckx, which he released when Disneyland opened in 1955 and are released at Disneyland on special occasions.
Can I release white ring neck doves, white squab, or untrained young white homers?
No. You should not release these birds for their safety and the dignity of your event.
The smaller white ring neck doves and white squab have no homing instinct and untrained young white homers won't have a home to return. If released outdoors, they will likely smash into car windshields or building windows, and if they survive, they will likely fall pray to cats, hawks, owls, or dogs.
Should I release the doves without the assistance of a professional dove handler?
No. Our AWDRA members do not allow self-releases because of the high potential for injury to the birds and the bad press and serious harm that it would do to the business. Our professional dove handlers know their birds and will do everything to ensure that the birds are not harmed and your event is dignified.
How far can white homing pigeons fly from their home loft?
The flying range of a homing pigeon varies with each individual and is inherited from their parents. Some exceptional homing pigeons can find their way home from as far as 1,000 miles. We only release our white homing pigeons within 50 miles from their loft so that they can get home quickly and safely. So how do the doves find their way home from unfamiliar places far away?
White homing pigeons are like people. They want to be at home with their family in their loft where they eat and live with their mates and offspring in safety. They are gifted with a superior eye sight, memory, hearing, and sense of smell that help them navigate with the sunlight and earth's magnetic fields. Their bird's eye view allows them to see from above further than most humans below and they remember familiar landmarks such as rivers, mountains, and buildings. Well trained white homing pigeons often return home from a dove release before their handler! Can you release the birds at night?
No. White homing pigeons are not nocturnal like owls and bats. They need the sun to navigate.
Can you release the birds indoors?
No. White homing pigeons can fly into windows and get injured if released indoors. As soon as we let them out they want to go home. What do doves symbolize?
In most cultures throughout the world doves stand for love and peace. The dove has a very special place in the Bible. In the story of Noah, he sends a dove to scout for dry land and it comes back with an olive branch on its beak, also a symbol of peace; in the New Testament, the biblical account states that the Spirit descended on Jesus Christ like a dove after he was baptized.
In a wedding, the doves bless the couple with their message of love, peace, and good fortune.
In a funeral or memorial, the doves symbolize the sprit going home and the angels.
In a birthday celebration, the doves symbolize mystery and magic!
What is a good occasion for a dove release?
A white dove release is perfect for a special memorable moments, where you need to add mystery and magic. A dove release marks a special memorable moment. Here are some suggestions:
Weddings
Wedding Anniversaries
Funerals Memorial Services
Birthday Celebrations
Quinceaneras
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
Graduations
Sports Events
Grand Openings
Youth Camp Activities
Children's Activities
Your Very Own Special Event
How did homing pigeons originate?
The biblical account of Noah and the Flood states that Noah released a dove when the waters subsided and it came back. Noah released the dove again later and it came back with an olive branch on its beak. When the waters subsided the dove did not return. Both doves and pigeons were sacred to the ancient Hebrews. The biblical account of Noah indicates that man's closeness to doves dates back to the beginning of time.
Prior to the advent of the telegraph and wireless communication in the 19th Century, people throughout the world relied on pigeons to communicate. The peoples of the Middle East domesticated homing pigeons and used them for sending important messages in times of war and peace. In Egypt and Persia they released the pigeons when they needed reinforcements in battle.
In ancient Athens, Greece, the white dove was sacred to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. They released homing pigeons at the end of the Olympic Games held every four years to announce the winners to the villages, who welcomed their heroes on their return to their villages with olive branches and celebrations. The Olympic Games were banned for 1,500 years until they were restarted in the modern era in its birthplace, Athens, in 1896. Today, pigeons continue to be relied upon to send secret messages in times of war when conventional communication fails. White dove releases with white homing pigeon have become popular at weddings, memorials, funerals, birthday celebrations, and other special and memorable events.
How did white homing pigeons and white dove releases come about?
The Olympic Games of the modern era were continued in Athens in 1896, where they reinstated the ancient tradition of releasing homing pigeons at the closing ceremonies.
At the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium, they released hundreds of white homing pigeons, a tradition that was integrated into the opening ceremonies.
Walt Disney acquired some pricey Pletinckx white homing pigeons from Belgium and built a pigeon loft for them at Disneyland, in Anaheim, California. He released about 12 white homing pigeons on opening day at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Disneyland continues to release white homing pigeons on special occasions.
Walt Disney also popularized homing pigeons in his movies such as and Snow White (1955) and The Pigeon That Worked A Miracle (1958) based on the book Pigeon Fly Home .
Walt Disney also coordinated the release of 2,000 white homing pigeons at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games held in Squaw Valley, California, a trend that continues to this day, weather permitting.
Many of the white homing pigeon lofts in the United States today can trace their white homing pigeons to Walt Disney's white birds.
So how do I schedule a dove release?
To schedule a white dove release in your area, please contact one our members closest to you in the White Dove Release Directory of America. Please note that we do not release our doves further than 50 miles from their loft to ensure that they come home quickly and safely.
Copyright American White Dove Release Assocation 2009
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White Dove Release FAQ's |