HAMLIN, N.Y. — Pigeon racing is a centuries-old sport with a changing demographic.

Kelly Jo Stone is a pigeon racer from Hamlin, NY who said she is seeing a shift in its participants.

“I love it,” said Stone while feeding pigeons in one of her lofts. “I think that this sport, while you hear a lot of talk about how it’s dying, I don’t think it’s dying. I think it’s changing, and I think that change is because you have this introduction of not just the female flyers, but younger flyers as well.”

Pigeons can fly up to 600 miles in a day and reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour. Their owners, like Stone, make sure they have the proper diet and exercise as well as comfortable living conditions to make sure they can fly their best. Part of the fun is that everyone does it a little differently.

"Pigeon flying is not really a science, it’s more of an art. And I say that because every pigeon flyer from the old to the young has an idea of what they want. They think this works or this works and realistically probably everything works in some situation but not everything works all of the time,” said Stone.

She said the sport is typically very welcoming and anyone who is interested in getting started can look for a local club through Facebook.