What a bunch of chickens.
Friday’s release of endangered California condors at Pinnacles
National Monument was delayed a day because the birds stayed put.
Going in, biologists knew that was a possibility.
”
It’s nerve-racking because of the unknown,
”
said Joe Burnett, a condor specialist for the Ventana Wilderness
Society, before the scheduled release.
What a bunch of chickens.
Friday’s release of endangered California condors at Pinnacles National Monument was delayed a day because the birds stayed put. Going in, biologists knew that was a possibility.
“It’s nerve-racking because of the unknown,” said Joe Burnett, a condor specialist for the Ventana Wilderness Society, before the scheduled release.
Finally, two of the condors flew out Saturday afternoon – but without a spectacle and the hundreds of bird watchers who waited 2 1/2 hours Friday before handlers closed the double-door trap. The two soared through the canyon Saturday and Sunday but stayed near the pen, according to ranger Brant Porter.
The park had planned on releasing four this weekend and the final pair in the next week or so. Saturday, though, biologists changed plans after monitoring the free flyers and decided to wait a couple weeks to release the remaining four, Porter said.
Despite the non-release Friday, the anxious buzz held up throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Visitors showed up as early as 6 a.m., according to Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon. They hiked about two miles to a grassy bluff, where the two-level pen was a dot on a hillside more than a mile away.
Nearly 500 people turned out – not one, even biologists, quite sure what they were coming to see. But that drama of uncertainty, according to park officials and condor enthusiasts, is a reason why so many people are fascinated with the endangered species.
“There’s a mystique about them,” said Jan Hamber, a condor biologist with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. She has attended every release – in California and Arizona – since the reintroduction efforts began in the early 1990s, she said.
The release was the first ever at a national park, Muldoon said. Ventana Wilderness Society has orchestrated several others in recent years at Big Sur. The Central Coast is among four regions of the world accommodating condor reintroduction efforts.
The turnout at Friday’s gathering would have been the largest of any previous release, according to Muldoon. She expected 200-300 visitors.
“It’s just fabulous to see this many people here,” she said Friday before the scheduled release.
Scores of other rangers and National Park Service officials also fervently looked on. And U.S. Congressman Sam Farr, who attended six previous condor releases, mingled with the crowd and gave a speech.
He called the release a “win-win situation” and particularly lauded San Benito County’s leadership for their support of the park.
“They’ve had the foresight to keep this area so pristine,” said Farr, who heralded the condor reintroduction as a tourism attraction for the county.
For the past three months, handlers had nurtured six young condors in a 45- by 25-foot pen. The birds were bred at the San Diego Zoo and stayed a few months at Big Sur before the October arrival to Pinnacles.
The Ventana Wilderness Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have coordinated with Pinnacles on the project for two years. Subsequent condor releases, the next one scheduled for mid-2004, are planned at Pinnacles until a sustained population of 20 is reached.
“This is not a one-shot deal,” said Bruce Palmer, who coordinates condor recovery efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We’ll be releasing birds here for a long time.”
The species reached a low population of 22 in 1982 – largely caused by lead ingestion – but has since multiplied to more than 220.
Park officials chose the viewing spot, which included several telescopes for public use, to remain a safe distance from the condors. They said they don’t want the scavenger birds getting used to human presence.
Families stationed themselves on blankets and took turns viewing through telescopes. Park rangers circulated throughout the crowd soliciting questions and loudly pronouncing their knowledge of the species. Several classes of children showed up for field trips.
“It’s probably a good experience for us to learn about these birds,” said Mattie Barrington, 12, a 7th grader at Jefferson School in Paicines.
She and four others from Jefferson School comprised one of two groups supervised by Carl Brenner, who teaches school kids about condors for the park.
Others, such as husband-wife couple John and Dorothy Kerkvliet of Hollister, came to Pinnacles out of curiosity. The Kerkvliets were also celebrating their 61st wedding anniversary Friday.
“We’re just impressed with wildlife,” Dorothy said.
