Condor Country

Condor Country Session 1 – Condor Recovery Program & Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge - October 20, 2022

The endangered California Condor, with a 9-foot wingspan, is North America's largest land bird. Capable of long distance flights of a hundred miles soaring on fixed wings, this scavenging member of the vulture family traces its ancestry back to the Ice Age. Other aspects of condor biology – including taxonomy and life history – are discussed. 

The California Condor Recovery Program has assisted bringing back a species from near extinction, with innovative management techniques including captive breeding, double clutching, reintroduction of young to the wild, nest site monitoring, and monitoring the wild population by fitting free flying condors with radio and gps-tracking devices.

Take a virtual field trip to Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, into the foothills of the Transverse Range and bordering the southern San Joaquin Valley. This virtually guided inside tour of the refuge (closed to the public without advanced reservations) highlights radio tracking of free flying condors and distant viewing of juvenile condors within the flight pen, soon to be released and taking their first flights into the wild. Here within the rugged mountainous terrain and spectacular scenery in the heart of ‘Condor Country’.

Condor Country Session 2 – Hi Mountain Lookout – October 22, 2022

The Hi Mountain Lookout Project, founded in 1996, is a collaborative venture with Morro Coast Audubon Society, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Cal Poly Biological Sciences Department, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Pinnacles National Park.

The Lookout is a restored fire lookout, now also functioning as a biological field research station and nature interpretive center. Staffed by community volunteers and Cal Poly student interns, visitors to the lookout enjoy the opportunities for bird watching, botanizing, studying the local geology, and observing staff and volunteers monitoring the flight movements of the endangered California Condor population, with radio telemetry equipment.

Review the history of the Lookout Project since its inception nearly 25 years ago, and the many years of collaborative efforts at restoring, staffing, and conducting field research projects at Hi Mountain.

Take a virtual field trip to Hi Mountain Lookout in the backcountry of San Luis Obispo County, located on the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains at 3,199 ft. elevation and within Los Padres National Forest. An inside guided tour of the lookout facilities includes the staff and volunteer’s living quarters and the visitor interpretive center. Photographic documentation of the local flora and fauna - including recent wildlife sightings of bears, mountain lions and bobcats - and the local geology and geographical landmarks viewed from the lookout will be featured.

There are opportunities for participants in this course to volunteer at the lookout in the future, schedule a visit, participate in the annual open house event, or come up for a picnic and enjoy the 360* view, from the coast to the snow-covered Sierras! The annual open house event with guided field trips, children’s activities, potluck picnic, and guest speakers is an annual tradition since 2002.

Condor Photo: ©U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Lookout with Moon: ©Joel Weiss