This is because more than 6000 homing pigeons will be released in Eden on Saturday before they race 375km back to their homes in Sydney.

Mr Jeffery, the secretary of the Central Cumberland Racing Pigeon Federation, said this will be the second of three pigeon races leaving from Eden this July.

The first was Saturday,  July 16, with the second event this Saturday and the last one on Saturday, July 30 before the start points continue their way south to Mallacoota next then travelling all the way down to Launceston, Tasmania. 

“We start the races close to Sydney and then gradually get further and further away, making it more challenging for the pigeons,” Mr Jeffery said. 

Local residents have expressed their concerns that not all of the pigeons will leave the town and instead end up roosting and breeding all over Eden.

But Mr Jeffery said this is highly unlikely. 

“It is very rare for a pigeon not to make it home, the only time this would happen is if there are strong winds but we have a rule that we only liberate the pigeons in good weather.”

He did concede that it is possible for one or two pigeons to remain but in his 40 years of pigeon racing he has not seen it happen often. 

The Central Cumberland Racing Pigeon Federation held a pigeon race in Eden last year to raise money for the Legacy Foundation and Mr Jeffery was over the moon to report that the organisation was able to donate more than $10,000 thanks to the event. 

Around 6500 pigeons will be liberated from the cemetery near Aislings Beach on Saturday morning at 9.30am. 

Mr Jeffery encourages the public to come down from 9am to watch the spectacle but has warned against standing too close. 

“It’s not common to get pooed on by the birds but we usually stand back a bit, will that many pigeons there is always a risk, let’s just say if I had a house nearby I wouldn’t be putting my washing on the line until after the pigeons leave,” he said.