Releasing Symbols of Love & Hope

Releasing birds to mark special occasions has become the life work of Rob Nicholls, who established White Birds Express with his wife, Sally

Rob Nicholls carries a basket up the center aisle at an outdoor wedding ceremony on Chicago’s lakefront. He opens the basket and hands two white doves to the bride and groom, which they release to mark their new marriage.

As the audience watches the two birds fly free, Nicholls releases another 24 birds into the air. The birds circle in formation overhead once or twice and then head for home 50 miles away in Hebron, Ill. (pop. 1,038).

Releasing birds to mark special occasions has become the life work of Nicholls, who established White Birds Express with his wife, Sally, eight years ago. However, raising homing birds dates to his childhood.

“When I was 11 years old, my father decided that he had to do something to curb my wildness, so he bought a couple of pigeons for me to raise,” Nicholls recalls.

Nicholls nurtured his flock until he entered the Marines at 19. When he returned from Vietnam, he discovered that his brothers and father had served his birds as the main course at a barbecue. Underterred, Nicholls contacted another bird raiser named Bill Lid in neighboring McHenry (pop. 21,501) and began to rebuild his flock. After he and Sally married a year later, Nicholls spent the next 30 years supporting his family as a concrete laborer in the construction industry.

The birds remained a hobby until Nicholls began to receive requests to conduct ceremonial bird releases. Three years ago, he retired from the construction business and he now devotes six months a year to White Birds Express. From May to October, the company releases birds at six to eight weddings a week, in addition to graduation ceremonies, memorial services, and sporting events. The Nicholls’ three adult daughters, Mary, Kathy, and Lisa, often pitch in.

Between releases, the birds live in 8-by-30-foot wooden structures, called lofts, at Nicholls’ Hebron home, two miles from the Wisconsin border. The lofts are kept scrupulously clean. The birds’ training begins when they are 3 months old, building their stamina until they are able to travel 50 miles at speeds of 40 to 60 miles mph.

Nicholls is fastidious in his care of the birds, which includes twice-yearly inoculations. His fondness for the birds is evident in the way he speaks to them in soft affectionate tones.

“I feed them the best feed and give them vitamins,” Nicholls says. “A lot of people think that this is a quick way to make a buck, but then they realize how much work is involved in caring for the birds.”

Still, the hard work is worth it when he sees his customers’ reactions.

A flock of white birds soaring against a sun-lit cloud is a memory that Ann Givens treasures from her daughter Shauna’s marriage to Andrew Hartford in August 2003. Givens arranged the bird release as a surprise for the newlyweds, and she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“It had been sunny throughout the ceremony,” she says. “And then just before the birds were released, a gray cloud moved over the sun. As the white birds rose into the air, they appeared to glisten.”

Geri Shouba, a guidance counselor at St. Charles (Ill.) North High School, witnessed a White Birds Express release during the school’s May 2002 outdoor graduation ceremony. “It was as if the birds had orchestrated their performance,” Shouba recalls. “They appeared proud and ecstatic at their release. It was so symbolic of departure.”

Debbie Kling, an assistant principal at the high school, arranged for the release and echoed Shouba’s reaction. “It was a beautiful and memorable ending to a truly spectacular day,” Kling says. “The symbolism of the birds as the choir sang . . . the white flock of birds flying away from the ‘nest’. Oh my, the tears were everywhere and it was truly a crowd pleaser.”

Mary McNulty is a freelance writer in Chicago.

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