Subject: [Tweeters] Racing News: the homestretch!
Date: Dec 6 14:04:56 2007
From: Ed Newbold - ednewbold1 at yahoo.com


Hi all,

MANY OLD RECORDS WILL TAKE A HARD FALL with the completion of this year?s YardBirdRace on midnight on Dec. 31, 2007.

The old record of 76 for Cathlamet for example, will be washed away, hopefully not along with every thing else in southwest Washington, as GEORGE EXUM?s list has floated up to 85 including Virginia Rail & White-tailed Kite.

CHRISTINE SOUTHWICK has nudged the old Shoreline record of 58 off the shelf with 62 including Evening & Black-headed Grosbeaks, Cackling Geese and a sign of good urban habitat: fledgling Dark-eyed Juncos.


TAYLER BROOKS has eeked over the Brier record of 68, with the word eek here meaning +2 to a cool 70, including Western-Screech Owl, Willow Flycatcher, Western Wood-pewee, and Greater White-fronted Goose.

KRISTI HEIN & CASEY BAZEWICK are 11 over the record in Anacortes as a Trumpeter Swan flying toward the flats gave put them at 59 as they enter homestretch.

BRETT WOLFE, at 45 with a Barn Owl and a Nighthawk, has added five to the U-District record.

The Eatonville record is also a goner, as DAWN BAILEY is 4 over at 71 with Hutton?s Vireo & Western Scrub Jay.

MARISSA BENEVENTE & JIM FLYNN continue their merciless assault on the big Seattle-Residential mark, with a Peregrine & Snow Geese recently bringing them to 79 which is 7 over.

Another record that is getting badly roughed-up is Ballard/residential which stood at 51 as the year began, but SCOTT HOSKIN has raised that by 10. Hoskin has many rare birds but it was a Spotted Towhee that stole the show one morning when it appeared for the first time in the yard in the 10 years or so since Scott?s been there.

One of the biggest YBR records of all, R overall, also will fall as a Great Egret flew over the yard of JIM DANZENBAKER to put him at 113, 10 over the all previous records in R and well over the old Battleground & ClarkCo records.

There?s also the category of ALL-NEW RECORDS, some of which seem likely to live on to become old & venerable records.

RYAN MERRILL is in W on freshwater in Kirkland, but his list not only has Surf Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser but also Nighthawk and LEWIS?S WOODPECKER, and at 100 will be a difficult one to knock off in the future. Still, YBR officials were critical of Merrill for not getting any shearwaters or boobies.


Other new records include KATHY VOLZ of Bothell, JOHN TUBBS with a new record in Snoqualmie to go with his previously reported tour-de-force in his working yard in Redmond.

December is also the month when hope slowly fades in the YardBirdRace, as no more bird migrations are scheduled.

But
CAROLYN EAGAN at 97 only needs one to tie! BILL MORRIS of Green Lake at 48 only needs 2 to tie! BOBBY & CURT PEARSON of Hillman City, at 46 only need three to tie! GARY BLETCH, with 92 in Skagit, needs three also! CAN THEY MAKE IT?

Many other exciting races can be seen on the leaderboard and in the press release.

Oh, and last but not least is a new record from Mt. Pleasant in a new county for the count: Skamania. WILSON CADY has 82 including Ruffed Grouse, Black Swift, Northern Goshawk, N. Saw-whet & Great Horned Owls, Olive-sided, Hammonds, Dusky, Willow, Pac-slope Flycatchers +WW Pewee, Cassin's, Red-eyed Vireos, Pygmy Nuthatch, Purple Martin and Hermit Warbler: I could use a bunch of them on my state list!

Wilson Cady, thanks to his eloquent remarks as read by MICHAEL HOBBS at the WOS memorial, (I-5 was closed) reminds me of PATRICK SULLIVAN, who, among many other things was one of the greatest YardBirdRacers of all time. We suspect you?d want us to carry on, Patrick, but we?ll never forget you, and when we dream of that perfect world that definitely doesn?t exist, it?ll be one where there's a delightful, as always, update from you in the inbox.

And best wishes, Ruth.

To see the LEADERBOARD, go to


http://ednewbold.com/ybr_leaderboard.html



To see the records for your city, town, county or yard-type go to

http://ednewbold.com/ybr_leaderboard.html


I?m still hoping to update the press release soon.


There is still plenty of time to join the race but lists become pumpkins after the 31st of Dec, so do it this month!


To join email me your yard list and location at

yardbirdrace at yahoo.com



Thanks all, and best wishes. ednewbold1 at yahoo.com or yardbirdrace at yahoo.com residential Beacon Hill, Seattle


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