“A few minutes after these photos we were all just standing about 30 feet away trying to figure out what to do, when in an instant the sky was full of bees and we all dove into the cars (I’ve never seen 5 people move so fast).  They continued to buzz around, and there was no way any of us were getting out of the cars, so we just drove away at that point.  The Pozo CalFire guys said the bees chased them away from the lookout when there were up there on Fri, too.”

The new Hi Mountain Lookout interns and volunteers hit the field last week, spending time learning about Condor management at the Bittercreek and Pinnacles release sites.

In this photo are: Trevor Pell (I), Spenser Widin (I) Scott Salembier(I) Phyllis Hischier (V) Jeremy Pohlman (I) Cayley Faurot Daniels (V) Ashley Estacio (V)

Meet at the Pozo Ranger Station at 9am for car pooling arrangements, or meet at the lookout at 9:30am (driving directions are posted here. Enjoy a view from the coast to the Sierras and a picnic lunch with friends and family.

Please contact Steve Schubert at s_schub1@msn.com or phone #805 528-6138 if you are interested in attending or for more information.

In an amazing display of cooperative effort on the part of many organizations and staff, here are where those 350 birds were located. 162 were in captivity at 7 zoos. Some were in captive breeding facilities and others on display. The zoos involved with captive breeding are: Los Angeles, San Diego Wild Animal Park, World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise (run by the Peregrine Fund), and the Oregon Zoo. Zoos that have condors on display are: San Diego Wild Animal Park & San Diego Zoo, Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, and our own Santa Barbara Zoo. Four immatures and 1 adult are now on display at SBZ.

Condors flying in the wild are 65 in Arizona, 18 in Baja California and 95 in the Southern California complex. The last group is composed of 34 birds at Hopper Mountain & Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuges run by USFWS, 20 in the Big Sur area managed by the Ventana Wildlife Society and 25 released at Pinnacles National Monument under the auspices of the National Park Service.

There are now 16 wild fledged condors in Southern California: 9 in Hopper NWR, 6 in Big Sur and 1 (brand new last year) at Pinnacles and 10 in Arizona. None of the 3 eggs laid in Baja have made it to
fledging.

21 birds died: several from predation by coyotes, one by strangulation (a condor twisted a rope, left behind by a climber, into a noose and hung himself), several from lead poisoning but many
from unknown causes.

A new group, Friends of the California Condor - Wild and Free was formed last year. The group is composed of individuals who assist with field work, education and fund raising. One person put
out 1 newsletter in July 2009. I have attached it to this message for those who would like to learn more about the events at Hopper NWR.

The fate of the nests mentioned in the newsletter is as follows: HC 09 - chick fledged and is doing well, AB 09 - chick fledged as is doing well, DG 09 - chick died after ingesting too much trash, KR 09 - chick disappeared from nest cavity when no one was there to monitor the nest. Several other nest failed prior to the newsletter’s publication. They were HB 09 where an egg was seen shortly after laying but disappeared several days later (raven predation?) and TC 09 where a bear was seen entering the nest cave. When FWS staff arrived a few days later there was no chick to be
found (bear predation?).

So now a new year has begun and there are eggs at LAZ & SDWAP and 1 egg at Hopper by the same pair (HB) that lost the egg last year.

Hope you enjoyed the update,
Jan

Come and discover one of the largest and most endangered flying birds of North America. California Condors re-introduced into the wild are radiotracked from Hi Mountain Lookout, flying between Big Sur in Central California and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in Southern California. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about condors and the effort to return these magnificent birds back to the wild. The Hi Mountain Lookout Project is a collaboration between Morro Coast Audubon Society, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service, Cal Poly Biological Sciences Department, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Pinnacles National Monument.

Hi Mountain Lookout has been restored as a biological field research station and visitor center. The interpretive visitor center has condor and other local wildlife displays and an extensive library of local natural history references.

The open house event will include condor radiotracking demonstrations, native plant identification, bird watching, and a local geology walking stroll. Volunteers and staff will be participating in a number of work projects throughout the day.

Join us for a potluck dinner, complimentary serving of wine by staff from Saucelito Canyon Winery and cheese tasting,live band music, and enjoy the sunset watch. Overnight camping is optional.

There will be Hi Mountain hats and other merchandise for sale and a fundraising auction, with the proceeds supporting our lookout project.

Cub Scout Pack #425, Den #7 Weblos recently made a trip up to the Lookout and had a great time!

What: Condor Benefit Mixer

When: Sunday July 19th, 3-8pm

Where: Saucelito Canyon Winery tasting room in the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo, off of Hwy. 227 (Broad St.) on Biddle Ranch Rd.

Why: To benefit ongoing Condor research at the Hi Mountain Lookout and enjoy some wonderful, local wines

For details, click on the flyer to your left. Hope to see you there

Sociable Hermits: A Story of Lookouts by Matt Geer @ youtube.com

This is actually just a 10 min trailer for a video documentary that I’m not sure ever got made. When I was an intern at Hi Mt. in the summer of 2002, Matthew Geer came up for a visit. He was shooting scenes for this movie and wanted to use the Hi Mt. Lookout as an example of a vandalized and disfunctional Lookout site. At the time, we had just barely begun the restoration process at Hi Mt, and there are a few good shots of the interior of the Lookout and the West wall before Anthony’s mural was painted. Also in this video are interviews with Kathy Ball and some magnificent aerial video of the famous Buck Rock Lookout. Hope you enjoy this, and thanks to Matthew Geer for putting this together and sending me the VHS tape. -Paul

Actually, the hummers were the highlight of the trip. I hung the feeder Thursday morning; by late afternoon there were 15 or 20 birds competing for a perch. The great majority of the birds were Selasphorus spp. I saw two probable make Allen’s in the morning along with many Rufus, and maybe one or two female Black-chinned. At dush there was a frantic scrum involing 8 or 10 Rufus and 4 or 5 Anna’s. It was great to watch. I got a few photos with my little point & shoot digital camera, some from as near as 24″, maybe even a little closer. At one point I needed to move the feeder briefly, and 3 or 4 RUHUs came along with me, pecking at some orange lettering on my hat and trying to land on the feeder. Photos attached, for what they’re worth.