10/04/2005

The Gold band race is behind me now all is mostly official. The preliminary results have been posted on the web at http://www.twincityconcourse.us/goldband.html.

I wound up with 4 of the top 20 positions, a bit short of the 10 of the top 20 positions I was seeking. I thought the birds flew well, and I put more in the money than anyone else. I also had one of the best returns of any of the flyers, including some of the flyers that were dominating earlier. I lost 6 birds on the race, percentage-wise not too bad considering the race.

My thoughts are now turning to the breeding season. I have some pairs picked out, mostly breeders from last year. I also picked up a couple more pairs with good blood. I will be pairing around Thanksgiving. I believe one of the reasons I have better returns is that my birds were 2 months older than many of the flyers. (Although some older birds got lost too.)

The weather is getting cooler, with frost coming in a few days. After that, it starts to get cold fast, and snow by mid-November. Water heaters and heated lofts for the breeders will be started soon. I will be able to accept Gold Banded youngsters as soon as they are ready. I will be banding many of my birds around the first of January.

All of the Gold Banded birds will be flown as Old Birds. I have a good stock of Gold Band birds to fly in the yearling Gold Band Race. There is $1600+ in that pool.

My prisoner loft is well underway, or at least I have started it. I should get it closed in next week. It isn’t too fancy, but it will help when I am flying to not have to deal with potential escapees when I feed and water.

The Loft updates will be a bit sporadic over the ‘off-season’, but I hope to send out any significant updates as they come.