Wow, I guess I was very lucky. I am running right now a bird from generation 3 going at 26k+ score. How is it possible to get such good specimens after so lit

Wow, I guess I was very lucky. I am running right now a bird from generation 3 going at 26k+ score. How is it possible to get such good specimens after so little generations? I'm guessing part of it is the simplicity of the model and the environment (the game), but still.