The Navy's first messenger pigeon fleet was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the early 20th century.
The birds were instrumental in military communications and used extensively during World War I and II, some even earning medals for valor.
In a nod to the historic past, the location was chosen as the base of operations for the public performance art titled "Fly by Night" which features 2,000 pigeons blanketing the sky equipped with LED lights on their legs.
The shows are each weekend through June 12. Tickets are free but reservations are needed. There is a waiting list.
The pigeons are trained only to eventually return to the ship. What they do between takeoff and return is up to them. The LED light bands are attached to the bird's leg and remote-controlled from the ship.
"The birds seem to fly pretty well," Duke Riley, the artist putting the show together, told The New York Times. " Usually, people want their birds to fly in tight bundles. Some guys don't like it when one bird will fly off by itself. But I like that -- some pigeons doing their own thing, acting of their own free will."
The project is also an ode to pigeon keeping, once a widespread hobby in New York City. In the 1960s thousands of people trained birds on rooftops across the city. Now there are about 200 people raising pigeons, according to NBC New York.
About 2/3 of the birds used in the project were donated by people who had to get rid of their pigeons either because of neighbors, landlords or other housing issues. After the performances, the birds will be donated to a Brooklyn keeper who lost hundreds of his pigeons in a fire a few weeks ago, according to NBC New York.
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