Eight Australian poets learned the hazards of working with animals after one of the high-flying competitors absconded with a "pigeon-cam" attached to its ankle.

The race involved the poets "writing about sport, racing, gaming and bird life" before the poems were strapped to the ankles of thoroughbred pigeons and set loose.

The pigeons are owned by national champion fanciers Graham and June Davison.

They were liberated at 1pm for the round trip to Mt Ousley, with punters betting on the poem that arrived first back at Bald Hill.

All eight competing birds completed the journey within the hour.

However, the ninth bird, employed specifically to film the race with a live feed for the race caller, was still missing in action at nightfall.

Johanna Featherstone, artistic director for race organiser The Red Room Company which "aims to promote poetry in unusual ways", said Number Nine's disappearance provided an interesting race development.

"Number Nine's purpose was to not only chart the race, but see what the earth looks like from a bird's point of view - the perspective that all good poets should have, seeing places that we think we know from a whole new perspective," Ms Featherstone said.

By 7pm, the view was predictably dimmed, along with the chances of ever seeing the camera again.

"We're expecting Number Nine to sleep somewhere overnight," Ms Featherstone said.

"The camera will probably be found by a bushwalker at Thirroul or somewhere."

Like all good black box recorders, the camera - which cost $130 to assemble - is inscribed with a contact number so that it might be returned for a post-mortem.

The clear race winner was pigeon Jimbala, carrying the poem Velocity written by Newcastle poet Ivy Ireland.

"All the pigeon fanciers placed their bets on Ivy's poem because they thought it was such an apt description of the nature of pigeon racing," Ms Featherstone said.