Daniel Magirescu – the profile of a pure-blooded pigeon

10 December 2019

Daniel Magirescu is from Bacău, a professional engineer, graduated from the “Vasile Alecsandri” University, specializing in technical profile, Machine Construction Technology.

MarathonPigeons.com: Tell us how you discovered the passion for pigeons, who initiated you and where you got the most important information in the field.

Daniel Magirescu: I inherited the love for these wonderful birds from my father, who also owned pigeons, from an early age. I have acquired the passion for pigeons over time, from childhood, being fascinated by the intelligence and willingness of the pigeons to return to their nest even after years, but also for the peace of mind they offer me when I am among them.

The first pigeons I came into contact with were, as usual, those of my father, who, at the time of my childhood, could not compete with the and therefore sold them in the local market. Some of them returned home even after a few years.

Fascinated by the competitions with pigeons, I decided that later, when I will have the financial opportunity and the necessary time, I will participate with my colleagues from the Bacău association in competitions. This has been happening since 1998.

After acquiring the status of member of the Bacău association, I met Ion Ojog, from whom I received a few birds with which I competed. He was the one who, at first, gave me more tips on what a good winged athlete should look like, but also about the fact that I have to compete hard if I want performance. Then I managed to purchase a few birds from Gabriel Nour, birds with origins Emiel Denis and Vasiliu Mihai, with the descendants of whom we had the first national results since 2000.

In 2012, at the initiative of Dragoş Dorneanu, I traveled to the Netherlands, together with the tandem that we are training today, and with the help of Jan Polder, we made a series of very good purchases from several breeders dedicated to the 1000 km marathon stages, such as: Ko Van Dommelen, G. Van Tuyl, Jan Polder, Cris Van Der Velden, AP Overwather, First Price Pigeons. These purchases brought us more trophies nationwide as well as in national marathon stages within the province of Moldova, in a fierce competition both in number of breeders and in number of birds in competitions.

MarathonPigeons.com: How does your experience of over 20 years in this noble sport translate into results?

DM: At the national level, in the fund and marathon categories, we have won 23 awards: 1st place obtained 11 times, 2nd place obtained 8 times and 3rd place obtained 5 times, most of them being in the Marathon category next to my teammates, Ion Ojog and Dragos Dorneanu, but also many other top 10 national rankings.

MarathonPigeons.com: How does your family and your loved ones accept the fact that you are allocating important time resources to this passion?

D.M .: I think the pigeon sport keeps you more at home with the pigeons and family. If you still get understanding and maybe a helping hand from at least one family member, then everything becomes much easier. In my case, I have partners in tandem who help me a lot, especially in training and boarding. When we are three, our power increases, and the results are are easy to be seen.

MarathonPigeons.com: What are the pigeons in your portfolio that you are most proud of? What satisfaction and performance did they bring to you?

DM: Looking back, I would like to mention at least one bird from the old guard, bird 334066-2006, a combination between the birds of Emiel Denis and Vasiliu Mihai, which brought us several national titles during 2007-2008, culminating in with the participation at the Dortmundt Olympics in the Marathon Category.

Going back to the birds that have brought us so many satisfactions in the last 6 years, propelling us countless times on the national podium, I would start with the female 380024-2013 who won three national championships at the Marathon, the Extreme Marathon in 1 year and National Marathon as well as a place 2 National Gdansk, a very difficult stage, launched late.

The female proved to be a very good breeder, being the mother of bird 164200-2017 – 1st place Birzai National 2019 of 9122 pigeons, 1087 km arriving at 23.58 and grandmother of bird 164317-2017 – 2nd place National Grand Prix 2019, one place 4 at Madona National, from 19,091 pigeons, 1199 km and a place 9 Birzai National from 9,122 pigeons, with 1087 km.

Another pigeon champion in the marathon category was also bird 556033-2014, which in 1 year managed to win 2 national champion titles at the Extreme Marathon and National Marathon, a place 2 National Marathon and a place 3 National As Marathon.

I left behind the two nest brothers: one is bird 556004-2017, who manages to win the 1st National As Marathon 2017, and his sister, bird 556005-2014, who succeeds to be 2nd in National As Marathon Palmares, in the same year , 2017. These two are father brothers with the favorite of 2019, bird 164317-2017, who obtained the 2nd place at the National Grand Prix, obtaining a score of 1.2 points on two very heavy nationals.

Other top birds at national level, which helped us to win 1st place in National Marathon Palmares Breeder 2017, 2nd place in National Marathon Palmares Breeder 2007, 2nd place in National Fond Palmares Breeder 2007, 3rd place in National Marathon Place Breeder 2016.

MarathonPigeons.com: What are the main problems that you have encountered in the pigeon fancier experience in Romania, and how do you see them resolved?

DM: Now after I made a presentation of both the breeder and the representative birds, there would be something to say about the problems we face in practicing this sport and I would mention the shortcomings of the National Sports Regulation.

Here I would like to talk strictly about the marathon,wich changed almost every year, lately in a democratic way, through questions (carefully chosen by our leaders to lead to the desired result) launched online, from which one category disappears every once in a while, for example the Extreme Marathon cathegory. With this cathegory missing, also disappears the chance to win and a new category appears, Grand Prix, with conditions that give birth to false champions.

I think that in the Marathon Category we are regressing by limiting the number of stages and through the annual changes made to the National Sports Regulations.