News and Updates
Jun-20-2022
WRAP OF 2022 AND ONTO 2023 Good Morning,

Hope everyone enjoyed their Father's Day weekend. Most checks and birds were mailed out last week. Post office overall did really well getting birds back to you in two days. We have a handful of birds to ship out this week and a handful more checks to write. Waiting on a few W9's and shipping of birds to finish getting out the checks. That wraps ups another year. Thanks to all who sent for 2022. 

For 2023, we have about 170 in the loft. Hopefully this week we will be able to start getting those entered into Wincompanion for you. Overall they are doing very well and healthy. Tomorrow should be nice enough to start settling the next group of birds that are ready. It has been windy the past week here. 

Next year we will be moving the final up about 15 miles. It should put the birds going in the right valleys. We raced from a similar area in 2019 because of high winds that day from the original location. It was still a challenging race, only 27 day birds but they came back like they are supposed to the next morning and following days. The location we have been releasing at is a challenge even for our seasoned club birds. Lots of factors that make it a tough release point. 

Post office is closed today if you plan on shipping this week. Thank you all for another year. 

Kenny and Corey
Jun-11-2022
FINAL RACE UPDATE High Desert Breeders,

Congratulations to PNWC, 49, for taking 1st place on the final by 2.5 hours and 1st place average speed! 
3 Stars and a Son, 462, 2nd place, 3rd place average speed.
Keyways, 166, 3rd place, 2nd place average speed. 

Some special birds that broke from the pack to come home on the day. 

I don't think we could have asked for a much better day to race but the results ended up being nothing we expected. This group of birds was a very good group and were ready for the final race. When the drivers returned, they reported that the route the birds should have taken was very calm the whole way, with temperatures from 70-78 degrees. Once they hit our valley there were some high clouds and a headwind that varied throughout the day. 

The birds arrived at the release site at 3:30 am. They had 3.5 hours to orient. They were given water. And they were released once the sun had finally gotten over the mountains and hit the trailer. At release the birds never circled and headed in the right direction over the mountains. At this release point the birds have some smaller mountains to go over and then they have a lot of different mountain ranges they can choose to follow. Go to the stations list on Wincompanion if you would like to see what choices your birds have to make to get home from that location. By the terrible returns and the direction the birds are coming in from, the East, every single bird. It is obvious they chose the wrong mountains to follow. It also hasn't helped that today and yesterday have been the hottest days all year. We were surprised to get as many in the heat of the day on day two as we did. Who knows the amount of extra miles those day 2 and 3 birds had to fly to get back home. These yearlings that have made it home are pretty amazing. Tough terrain for a yearling to navigate when they get that far off course. A good percentage have come in by themselves. 

What made that day even more interesting is our club birds, who were released after, have been there 2-3 times, had terrible returns too but have been coming out of the West for us. 

Next year we will more than likely be moving the release up 15-25 miles shorter. This moves the release west by quite a few miles and puts them in the valleys that should lead them home. We want your birds to be challenged but not a big fan of these survival races. As a handler these are gut wrenching races that takes its toll on us. We put a lot into your birds and to see those types of results is hard. 

Thank you for letting us fly and test your birds again. We appreciate your support. This wraps up 12 years of one loft racing. 

Get us W9's if you won more than $600. We will be mailing out birds Monday and Tuesday, 6/13 and 6/14. Please email or text if you want your birds back. We will be using the addresses on Wincompanion. Please make sure those are correct. We will also try and get out your checks next week too. 

Once this year is wrapped up we will get next years birds on Wincompanion. We have around 130 in the loft for next year. 

Thanks again for another year. 

Kenny and Corey
Jun-08-2022
BIRDS LIBERATED! Good Morning,

The birds are off. Conditions are calling for slight headwinds at the beginning, then it changes to slight tail/sidewinds, then to finish off the race it is calling for a headwind again. But that is assuming they go the route we looked at the weather. Lots of mountains the birds will be traversing through today. And each area will have different conditions. Most of the day the birds should be flying in 70's to low 80's for temperatures. 

Your birds handled and felt ready during basketing. There are a lot of very good birds in this final group. 

Thank you breeders for letting us fly and test your birds for another year. Should be another good final race. Best of luck to all!

Kenny and Corey 
Jun-06-2022
FINAL RACE AND PAYOUTS High Desert Breeders,

The plan is to run the final Wednesday. Lunch will be ready around noon. Birds are coming back into form nicely after the last race.

Payouts for the Final are Below. 

375 Mile Race50%$35,300.00
1st$6,354.00
2nd$3,883.00
3rd$2,824.00
4th$2,471.00
5th$2,118.00
6th$1,765.00
7th$1,765.00
8th$1,765.00
9th$1,765.00
10th$1,765.00
11th$1,059.00
12th$1,059.00
13th$1,059.00
14th$1,059.00
15th$1,059.00
16th$706.00
17th$706.00
18th$706.00
19th$706.00
20th$706.00
Total:$35,300.00

Average Speed Bird20%$14,120.00
First$4,659.60
Second$3,388.80
Third$2,541.60
Fourth$1,835.60
Fifth$988.40
Sixth$706.00
Total:$14,120.00


Kenny and Corey
Jun-01-2022
300 MILE RACE RECAP AND FINAL PLANS High Desert Breeders,

Congratulations to the Jones Boys for taking 1st place by over 20 minutes! Only bird over 1000 ypm and 8.5 hours on the wing. Congratulations to all the other money winners. 

The race ended up being a lot more challenging than we expected. Never fun to sit there for an extra couple of hours wandering where the birds were and if we made the right call. We suspect they encountered some extra headwinds in the beginning and at about 125 miles left they had 15-20 mph side winds for about 50 miles. The release was partly cloudy with lots of blue skies. Part of the course was cloudy and about 50 miles from home, depending on when they came home on the day, they had a few showers to fly through. All the birds that made it home have a lot of heart and stamina. For a yearling to fly 9+ hours on the wing and get home on the day is very impressive. The birds had to work the whole 300 miles. There were no easy miles. What this group of birds did was very impressive. We were very happy to get 97 back on the day after only 12 were home with 9.5 hours on the wing. 

Had the weather been better Sunday and Monday I suspect we would have gotten quite a few more home. Sunday had scattered showers with 20+ mph headwinds all day. And Monday was a torrential downpour till 3pm with 20+ mph winds. And it snowed in the hills that are 10 miles away. The birds that came home after the first day are darn tough. Yesterday was the first decent day we have had since the race.

There are a lot of lenses of which you can view that 300 mile race. Of course we would have liked a higher percentage back. Maybe we should have waited for a different day but we know summer is coming fast in that Nevada desert and high heat is the biggest killer of the birds on the final. All things considered our view is you as the breeder just found out which of your breeders create yearlings with a bottom end. If you want to send to the worlds toughest races that fly yearlings this race series isn't a bad tester for them. 

We are planning on running the final race midweek next week. Weather is looking decent as of right now. Will pick out a day the closer we get.

Again congratulations!

Kenny and Corey
May-28-2022
PAYOUTS High Desert Breeders,

Birds are on their way to the release. First 100 or so miles should have some headwinds. Then the rest of the course sidewinds. Most of the course will be cloudy to partly cloudy. They might have a few scattered showers to go through once they are within 40 miles or so. This weather is very similar to what birds have come home too in 2 out of the last 3 years from the 300 mile race. 

Below is the payout for the 300 mile race and average speed. And how much is in the pot for the Final race. 

Best of luck to all!

BirdsPot Money
363$72,600.00
After 200 Payout$70,600.00
 
300 Mile Race30%$21,180.00
1st$2,965.20
2nd$1,906.20
3rd$1,694.40
4th$1,482.60
5th$1,270.80
6th$847.20
7th$847.20
8th$847.20
9th$847.20
10th$847.20
11th$635.40
12th$635.40
13th$635.40
14th$635.40
15th$635.40
16th$423.60
17th$423.60
18th$423.60
19th$423.60
20th$423.60
21st$190.62
22nd$190.62
23rd$190.62
24th$190.62
25th$190.62
26th$190.62
27th$190.62
28th$190.62
29th$190.62
30th$190.62
31st$105.90
32nd$105.90
33rd$105.90
34th$105.90
Total:$21,180.00

375 Mile Race50%$35,300.00

Average Speed Bird20%$14,120.00
First$4,659.60
Second$3,388.80
Third$2,541.60
Fourth$1,835.60
Fifth$988.40
Sixth$706.00
Total:$14,120.00


Kenny and Corey
May-24-2022
200 MILE RECAP AND 300 MILE PLANS High Desert Breeders,

Congratulations to the 3 Breeders on the drop from 200 miles and to Silver Dollar for having the first through the trap! Overall was a really good race for the birds. They got at least 4 hours of wing time and were broken up pretty good. Lots of groups and they came in from all directions. We were fortunate to have a nice cool day to get most of the birds home. 

Plans for the week include lots of loft flying and perhaps a toss. We will have some warmer days this week and we will get the birds out in the afternoons trying to acclimate them to flying in a little warmer weather. 

We are planning on running the 300 mile race this coming weekend. Will have a day picked out the closer we get. It looks as though we might get lucky and have some cooler weather this weekend for the race. Which will really impact return rates in a positive way. 

These final two races can give you lot of good information about your breeding program. This course is not designed to get amazing statistical returns from here on out. The Nevada Terrain likes to chew up and spit out birds that aren't smart or tough enough. We will have your birds ready but now it's more about the birds ability. The 125 mile and 200 mile race showed you we have done our part and they are ready. 

We will be contacting a few breeders who we have not received money for. Thank you to the 95% who got us your entry money or have contacted us. If we cannot get ahold of you just know your birds will be sold no later than Thursday. 

Thanks and until the next update. 

Kenny and Corey
May-21-2022
AND THEY ARE OFF............. High Desert Breeders,

Birds went up at 7am. Calm, chilly morning. Winds should be mostly calm throughout their return trip home. 

An update on the last 40 mile toss and where the birds went. We assumed they put on some miles tripping but they far surpassed what we thought they were doing. We got a call yesterday from the Boise club and one of the birds that didn't make it back trapped in their loft. They saw about a group of 20 fly over their loft and that one from the group trapped in their loft. This loft is about140 air miles away one way. We know these birds are coming home from the 40 mile toss and then going tripping because the sexes were released 30 minutes apart and these tripping groups are coming back with mixed sexes. Those way late birds flew over 350+ miles. None of the late birds are injured or been hit by hawk. They are chiseled and love to fly. It is pretty neat what your birds will do when they are in great condition and feeling good. We had lots of birds Wednesday tripping and getting in extra miles. Majority of those late birds on tosses and aren't messing around the loft. They are traveling the countryside. Our goal is to get these birds ready for the final and these birds getting extra miles on are preparing themselves to fly that 8+ hours on the wing for the final. 

Best of luck today at the race!

Kenny and Corey
May-20-2022
200 MILE RACE PLANS Good Morning,

The 200 mile race will be Saturday, 5/21. The first 20 through the trap get $100 and this race counts towards average speed. 

There are always a couple times a year where we scratch our heads with Yearling One Loft Birds. They like to do some crazy stuff when they get in great condition. The last toss was one of them. There was a large group that came home from the toss and then went tripping. Our best guess is that they got too far away, Wednesday started to heat up which they aren't use to and then they set down. Then Thursday was an awful day with 30+ MPH winds. That leads to a toss with more losses than on the activation race. 

You will receive a refund for those lost birds.

Best of luck on the race!

Kenny and Corey
May-16-2022
RACE UPDATE High Desert Breeders,

Your birds had a successful Activation Race. Most were able to navigate their way home. They came home very broken up and the groups came from all directions. It was a very good toss for the birds. There was a large group that came in around 11:45 am, about 2.5 hours after the first birds arrived. If you had a bird in that group, keep your eye on them. Some of those birds will do something on the final two races. They came in looking like they just flew for an hour around the loft.

Please get your Entry Fee money in. Remember we pay out 100% of the prize money.

Send us a check or use PayPal. Please use the friends and family option. highdesertyc@gmail.com

We are looking at running the 200 mile race Friday or Saturday depending on the weather.


Kenny and Corey
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