Turbulence is ubiquitous in the natural environment, yet little is understood about how flapping fliers maintain flight control in variable flows. Unlocking the characteristics of avian gust response may lead improved flow-control technologies for a rapidly evolving aviation industry. With this aim, we investigated gust responses in pigeons, Columba livia, flying in a custom-built avian wind tunnel that can be operated in level or tilted configurations. Dual-vein gust generators were used to produce gusts of different lengths and magnitudes during flapping and gliding flight. Pigeon responses to gusts were characterised using seven Motion Capture cameras to record wing and body motions at 200 Hz. Tests were conducted over a period of a month and the resulting data were analysed using a custom-built Principal Component Analysis. The principal components differed depending on whether birds were (i) gliding or flapping and (ii) exposed to singular or continuous gusts. Initial analyses were unable to identify differences in gust responses according to the gust length and magnitude. While it may be that much greater sample size are needed, our initial results suggest that birds are unlikely to rely on singular gust response modes.