Racing Pigeon Moves In At Umatilla Airport

    Where would you expect a racing pigeon in need of a few days of rest to take up residence? If you guessed the Umatilla Municipal Airport, you would be correct. City officials in the past week took up nursing a pigeon that has taken up residence at the city airfield, with the bird apparently considering becoming a permanent resident.
   "We're feeding it dry rice, bird seed, and water," said city employee Misti Lambert. The bird has split time between the city's large bulk hangar and the former FBO building, taking in the sights and sounds of Umatilla's airport while it gained strength. The bird has been at the airport for almost two weeks so far.
   By this past Tuesday, the bird, which carries a leg marking noting its use as a racing pigeon, had been given the name ‘Pilot’ by city officials.
   Lambert said efforts to contact the bird racing club have yet to yield much help in getting the bird home.
   Or maybe it feels like it is home, already. The bird can fly, it just seems to have little interest in flying away. Lambert said it won’t fly unless a person gets too close.
   “The other day it got closed up in the big hangar, and was flapping against the window trying to get out,” Lambert said on Tuesday. “I opened the door and it strutted out like ‘I hope you didn’t see that.’”