E is for . . .

Ethogram (n.)

An established set of animal behaviors, designed to standardize description by multiple observers. For example, our condor ethogram includes such behaviors as IN for incubation, ER for egg roll, and MN for mandibulate.

A glint of blue caught my eye, in a tree further up the hill. An unnatural blue, one unlikely to be found in a landscape whose only true blue is the sky above it. Turns out, it was someone's lost ballon, from a birthday party, perhaps. Who knows how far it had traveled before tangling up in this, its final resting place.  

A Day in the Life

Hiked down to Mid-Hopper Canyon again--my old nemesis. Spent the day looking for birds that never appeared. Funny how every nook, cranny, crevice, crow, fly, and burnt tree stump looks like a condor out of the corner of one's eye. Listened in on the action over on the other side of the ridge in the manner of an old-timey radio drama, as my boss, currently rappelling into a nest, communicated with the observers across-canyon from him.

Carcass drop that night. Gutted some rabbits. Then, bed.

Nest Watch 2011

I'm back at Hopper this hitch. Today was Nest Observer Training, an information session detailing all the observation protocols for us nest observers--Intern James, me, the Santa Barbara Zoo nest technician Molly and the new Santa Barbara Zoo liaison Ria. The prospect of nest obs is daunting: seven-hour blocks of time--beginning at sunrise or ending at sunset--staring into a spotting scope, recording the attending parent's (and eventually chick's) every move.

Spent the early part of the evening exploring the grounds of the Hopper Ranch House in the twilight, a chorus of bird calls and frog song to accompany the distant chords of James's guitar. That night, we all gathered around the living room coffee table for a game of Risk. I'd never played, so as beginner's luck would have it, I quietly took over the world while everyone else was squabbling over South America.

Suckers.

Frog calls at dusk. 

It's Official

As of February 28, Nesting Season has officially begun!

C is for Carcass Run

(n.) also known euphemistically as a "Dairy Run"

We supplement the condors' diets with the carcasses of still-born calves from local dairies in the Bakersfield area. Think of it as recycling. If the condors are eating calves, they aren't eating game filled with lead shot (although, unfortunately, they still do that too). It aids us in catching the birds as well, familiarizing them with carcasses chained inside traps.

There are some 25 or 30 dairies we drive to. The calves are waiting there in a pile. The smell is overwhelming. Only calves with gel pads still on their hooves are eligible (the gel pads are there to protect the mother cow from injury during birth). These pads mean the calf has never stood, never eaten anything laced with hormones or antibiotics. Back at our house, we wash the calves, which in my mind at least feels like a small kindness for creatures who never knew anything but filth and muck. Sentimental, I know. Then it's into the freezer with them, until condor dinner-time anyway.

Day 9: Extreme Danger for Dogs and Children

A sign.

Today I hiked down this trail with one of the wildlife biologists and Intern Darin. There was much slipping and sliding to be had by all, given that snow still covered parts of the path, and where the snow had melted the ground had turned to thick mud. Amazingly, none of us fell. Go team!