When Rachael Carreiro releases her “white doves” at funerals, the tears pour down people’s faces.

The birds symbolise love and peace in several religions so many people find it moving to see them in the air.

“It gets very emotional,” said the owner of Harmony of Doves.

For a fee Ms Carreiro, husband Roger Smith and mother-in-law Judy Smith release them at weddings, birthday parties and other events. Funerals are their most common venue.

She has more than 80 birds but she usually only lets go a small number – one, four or six.

The “white doves” used in such businesses are actually white homing pigeons. Doves are generally smaller, but, scientifically, there is not much difference between doves and pigeons.

Many people contact Ms Carreiro’s business, Harmony of Doves, looking for an alternative to releasing helium balloons into the atmosphere to make a tribute to someone. Instead of the balloons falling back to earth to harm wildlife or create litter, the birds circle the onlookers, wheel around in the sky then fly home for their dinner.

Ms Carreiro’s flock easily find their way back to their base in Southampton.

“We have not lost any,” Ms Carreiro said. “They always return home. However, we have lost a few for one or two days. We think this is due to the radar at the airport. It messes with their navigation.”

On the rare occasion they are delayed, people on social media usually help with the reunion.

“It is very difficult to catch any bird during the day so we have to wait until it is dusk and they have settled down,” Ms Carreiro said.

Ms Carreiro, an insurance executive by day, got into the bird business, looking for something unique to offer. She already kept love birds, parrots and cockatiels.

She was partly inspired by her friends, David and Ellen Lopes, who kept doves.

In 2019, Ms Carreiro and her husband bought several birds from Edward Roque and they have been growing their flock ever since.

During Covid-19, the business did well because crowd restrictions led to people looking for something extra special for funerals.

“We just wore masks and stood to the side,” Ms Carreiro said. “Right now, we are building up the business and trying to get our name out there.”

The couple described the birds as “free range”. On a daily basis, they open the cage and they fly out. They can be seen looping in the sky anywhere from St David’s to Dockyard.

“There are some rocks by the sea they like to hang out on,” Ms Carreiro said. “They also like to come home and lay in the yard on a sunny day or sit on the roof."

While running the business, they have discovered a few quirks about their flock.

“They pair up for life,” Ms Carreiro said. “Once they get up into the sky, they will find their mate and fly next to them.”

Ms Carreiro tends to release the birds into the air in groups, based on the colour of their leg band. She always lets them go in the same order. The birds seem to know the order and wait their turn.

They are also fast and can reach speeds of 90mph.

Mr Smith sometimes takes them to St George to give them a longer flight home.

“They often are back in their cage before he gets here in his car,” Ms Smith said.

They charge $125 to release them at a funeral and have different packages available for weddings.

The birds are fragile so clients are not allowed to handle them. Only Harmony of Doves representatives are involved in the release.

“You have to know how tight to hold them,” Ms Smith said. “They can easily break a wing.”

They do not fly the birds in bad weather.

“During hurricanes, we bring them inside,” Ms Carreiro said.

They also do not fly the birds late in the day because they want them to get home before dusk.