For birders in pursuit, no winging it.

Byline: Bob Welch The Register-Guard

When the day was over and the record broken, no binocular company offered Dave Irons, Noah Strycker, John Sullivan and Tim Janzen endorsement contracts.

And Nike didn't give six-digit deals to the foursome for wearing its new bird-watching shoe, the hypothetical Air Red-Breasted Sapsucker.

But let the record show: In a 24-hour period, this foursome saw more species of birds than anyone in North America has ever reported in the month of June - 219, breaking the old American Birding Association record of 202 set in Manitoba. And breaking the all-time, any-month record for Oregon.

"There's a real competitive aspect to this," says Irons, a 47-year-old Eugene man who drives a delivery truck for Schwan's Fine Foods. "I see a record, I want to break it."

And so, after sleeping all day, the foursome began their quest in Eugene at midnight June 2. "Actually, I'd started calling a screech owl's whistle at 11:58," Irons says, "and, sure enough, we heard one soon after midnight, which was legal. Your total is all species seen or heard in the 24-hour time swath."

The association has intricate rules; each of the four must hear or see 95 percent of the total count. But basically, you're on the honor system here. A few - called "stringers" - are known to inflate their findings. (`Birding's Bad Boys: Film at 11.')

In Janzen's Jeep Cherokee, each guy having packed his own food to avoid time-consuming stops at restaurants, the four head for the Coast Range on what will be a 685-mile journey. Fifty-some stops (none to go to the bathroom). And more swiveling of tilted heads than at an air show.

Mountain quail, Virginia rail, pileated woodpecker, sooty shear-

water, tufted puffin, Bonaparte's gull, harlequin duck ... .

It's part bird-watching. Part TV's "Amazing Race." "And part marathon," says Strycker, an Oregon State student who, at 21, is about half the age of his teammates but already a nationally known birder. "It's

grueling."

Janzen, a doctor from Clackamas, is a fanatical planner and has scouted nearly every inch the foursome will go on their record attempt, from Eugene to the coast to the desert of south-central Oregon. "He leaves no stone unturned," Irons says.

As expected, the coast is hot territory - they "tick" 107 species by 8:45 a.m. Then it is back over the Coast Range, hitting bird-rich Fern Ridge Lake, and into the Cascades.

Green heron, hooded merganser, black-backed woodpecker ... .

At Salt Creek Falls on Willamette Pass, the four know of black swifts nesting behind the waterfalls. "We sprint down to the falls, where there are about 15 tourists, and start scanning with our binoculars," says Strycker. `We don't even look at the falls. Dave says, `Got one!' Then, `got it,' `got it,' `got it,' and we're on our way.'

The afternoon trip over the Cascades is the low point. The four are exhausted. Bird sightings are rare. But spirits pick up in the evening as they near Summer Lake, about 70 miles northeast of Klamath Falls. They hit the 175 mark. The record is within reach.

Clark's nutcracker, northern

waterthrush, red-naped sapsucker, white-headed woodpecker ... .

Then, disaster: As darkness falls, they're confident of finding a great horned owl in an old barn near Schoolhouse Lake. Instead, they find a wedding reception - and no owls.

"But the last few hours the adrenaline really kicks in," Irons says. "You're hammering. There's no room for error."

Sullivan, a machinist from Springfield, does some adding.

"Two fourteen!" They've done it!

In the last few hours, they hear five more species, finishing with the metallic "tic-tic-tic" sound of a yellow rail in the Klamath Forest National Wildlife Refuge, a bird they'd traveled 60 miles just to get on the list.

Midnight.

In the light of nearly a full moon, Irons walks to the back window of the Jeep, which is caked in dust. With his forefinger, he breaks the news to the world: "219."