Happy Halloween everyone!
The last race at 250 miles was on the 23rd of October. Since the last race we have trained the birds 45 miles on the 27th, 29th, and today the 31st of October trying to keep the birds sharp for the next race at 300 miles. The birds look great, they look ready, unfortunately weather is not cooperating.
This time of year if we are to get rain along this course which is typically dry it is going to be now, that is exactly what the forecast is showing. Weather reports show a day with partial sun followed by a couple days of rain, or partial sun at release and rain at one point along their path home. We are not looking for a perfect day, however we are looking for a nice day for a race with no rain followed by a day for late arrivals to make it home on at least a decent day.
In a nutshell, we are studying several different weather reports for the next acceptable day to hold the 300 mile race. Again, not looking for the perfect sunny blue bird day with little to no wind, but we are looking for a day where it is fair to the birds where there should be no excuse for the predominance of the birds to make it home on the day.
As soon as we identify a decent day to hold the next race we will let y'all know here in the updates, hopefully it will be this week!
Rick & Olga
First off, congrats to the winners today! The first 10 positions earned prizes today and it will be this way on the next race as well.
This morning there was some ground fog, waited a hour until the sun completely burned it off so we had a 0830 release instead of 0730 as originally planned. Clear blue skies the whole way home, hardly any clouds, very light variable wind for the first 150 miles. As I approached the Columbia River on the OR side there was a very strong west wind, weather forecast called for no more than 10 mph however it was over 20. This continued as I crossed the river, white caps on the river and the wind kept up like this on the WA side for about 20 miles until I hit the forest. Up in the mountains it was almost dead calm, and it was this way the rest of the way home.
So in a nutshell, first 150 miles it was calm and clear with light wind, next 50 miles a unforecasted 20 mph west wind, the last 50 miles hardly any wind at all and it was sunny and clear all day. Obviously the strong west wind screwed some birds up, hopefully we get a bunch pour in this evening and tomorrow morning.
Congratulations to everyone who had birds in other races today, seems it was a tough one for several of us for some reason.
Congratulations to BTS Syndicate for having the first bird through the trap on the last race, and to everyone who had birds on the day!
We had a good toss this morning, plan on training tomorrow, next race Monday. The weather is starting to get unpredictable as winter approaches so we are looking for decent days to race, looks like the next best day will be Monday with a bit of a headwind.
The next race at 250 and the one after at 300 will pay out the following.
1st $1,000
2nd $900
3rd $800
4th $700
5th $600
6th-10th $500 ea
The final race pays out the top 10% of the birds shipped to that race, we will post the payout before the final race after we know how many will be competing.
This is a 6 race series this year, we have 3 more races for you to enjoy and to test your birds at.
We will not be offering a optional 400, the roads are starting to get icy the further south we go and snow and freezing rain is in the forecast.
Thanks for everyone's support this year and your mostly favorable comments. We are doing our best to get as many of these birds as possible through the entire series, more birds in the final race means more potential breeders for you!
Everyone have a great day!
Today the birds were released in 6 groups starting at 0930 to 1000. It is overcast with a ever so slight mist of rain, the birds are enjoying the weather with some playing on the roof in the rain.
Plan is to have the next race Wednesday, they will be kept in tomorrow and fed early AM to set them up for the release Wednesday as early as possible.
Olga and I have had several talks about the optional 400 this year. The weather is already turning in to winter weather and the roads are typically wet every morning. When the temps drop the wet roads turn in to icy roads, the light rain turns in to snow. This is the third year we have talked about having a 400, not sure it will ever work on this course due to weather and decreased daylight as we get closer to winter.
The last race at 165 miles is in the books, congrats to Naveja y ConeS Loft for having the first bird through the trap.
We plan to train tomorrow, Tuesday, have the next race at 200 miles Thursday.
The race is on for tomorrow, weather looks great!
Basket list will be posted shortly.
Good luck everyone!
Today the birds had their 7th toss from 45 miles, the last 4 have been from Satus Pass and the last 3 were the last 3 days in a row. Today was overcast with slight drizzle, there was a slight sliver of the sun shining through so out the birds went. Most are in the loft with a few messing around outside taking advantage of this cool rainy weather. If you happened to see the live feed from the last race then you already know that trapping is not a issue around here on race day.
Game plan is to feed the birds very early tomorrow morning, give them a few hours to relax then scan the birds. We return them to the loft right after scanning so they do not get stressed sitting on a trailer all afternoon and through the night before being hauled down to the release point. We then flip the lights on in the loft and load them up around 2 AM which takes about 20 minutes, this will get us down to the release point a few hours before release so they can get settled down and see the sun come up.
If anything changes we will let you know ASAP.
The birds have had two nice tosses in a row, we plan to train again tomorrow if the weather forecast holds up.
Wednesday it is supposed to rain off and on all day, sunny on Thursday all along the course. If we do get to race on Thursday this means the birds will of been trained 45 miles Sunday, Monday (today), Tuesday (tomorrow), scanned and rested Wednesday, then raced on Thursday. We generally get near 100% returns from the next race station which is 165 miles from the loft in Redmond, OR.
Everyone cross your fingers and say your prayers that the weather stays as forecasted so we can get this show on the road. We have 5 more races to get in before winter arrives, we need all the positivity that you can send our way!
The birds had a nice toss today and we continue to get birds coming home from the first race we had Sunday. Olga and I have some personal business to take care of this week so you will not see the next trainer until Sunday. We plan to train again next Tuesday and race on Thursday if the birds look ready. The birds will be loft flown daily until Sunday, this will give these late birds who continue to trickle in some much deserved rest and build back time.
Congratulations to H E Breeders Farm for having the first bird through the trap, this was a bird purchased off of the FOR SALE list.
Today the birds were released under a clear sky with a slight head wind, it was this way all the way home. As we got later in to the morning it got a little windy, now it is getting more windy and the birds are coming in broken up. On this course there are many different routes the birds can take after they cross the Columbia River, from the results and watching the birds come out of the south, southeast and east, it is obvious that once they crossed the river they got broke up and took different routes on their way home. We were on Facebook live once I got home which was about 10 minutes after the first birds arrived, those who were watching can attest that when they arrived they were trapping in quickly and I do not remember one single bird even going to the ground.
We predict that we will continue to get singles coming in all day and right before dark a bunch will come in, those who do not should come in early AM as they see the sun rise.
Also worth mentioning is that the Crooked River and Blue Bucket, about 40 miles south of where we released today and about 160 miles south of our loft, had training tosses today and similar speeds to what we had. There must of been a strong head wind up high, down at ground level it seemed pretty calm. Rex with the Sooner called on my way home and said that there was a slight head wind all the way home which was forecasted, however up high it must of been a bit stronger.
Just got off the phone with a very good flyer in a club about 50 miles to our east whose club had a race today released in Prineville, OR which is way east of where I released about 40 miles. They are having similar results to what we are having today, we are all scratching our heads on what happened.
OK, I keep updating as I get information. According to Lucas at the Crooked River we had up to 35 mph N to NW winds up high at 2,000 feet. At ground level it was almost dead calm, however up high it was windy. This explains why the birds got broke up today, why other NW clubs are having poor returns, and why the Blue Bucket and Crooked River had similar speeds to what we had here at the Apple Cup today.
Birds continue to trap every few minutes and as stated above, we predict a bunch will trap right before dark and the rest early AM. Cross your fingers!
