6/10/06 - Bill & Jason trekked up to a mountainous location north of L.A. to a known haunt of some CA Condors, a species teetering on the brink of extinction, human-caused, but also pulled back by extreme human intervention.  We knew of the spot from Habitat Works of Southern California, which has organized micro-trash cleanups to help the condors.  There was no guarantee we’d spot any, but we went...  and hit the condor jackpot!!  There are about 100 condors alive in the wild (almost all bred in captivity), maybe 150 more in captivity.  Today we saw 3% of the wild population.  They are incredibly massive (wingspan of up to 10 feet), majestic, inquisitive, and butt-friggin’-ugly.  It was an amazing experience.
California Condors: I saw ‘em!!
First sighting! A long way off, a strange structure... what are those dark shapes?.. FRICKIN’ CONDORS!!
First we had to drive through a landing pad
After we went the wrong way, we found the right structure. They’re still there!
Still took forever to find a trail up to it though.
And there they are, hangin’ out.
CA Condor #92, in all his glory!!
And his buddy, #89. Probably younger as he’s got less pink on his head.
An exciting wing stretch after a whole lot of sitting around doing nothing.
Man alive they’re hideous!  Magnificent!
Check out those fleshy feet. They eat carrion only, no talons.
The third of the crew, later ID’d as #16.
Jason got covered in ants, and then all hell broke loose! Condors on the move!
The shenanigans have begun!
These guys had a great time messing around on this man-made structure.
Finally we’re seeing some wing action!
Looking for mischief.
Found it!
Blargh!
The condor two-step.
“Hey man, step off!”
“That was MY spot you hoser!”
“Not any more, suckah!
“Ooh yeah, #92 is the CONDOR!”
92 showboats, 89 sulks, 16 couldn’t care less.
The final jackpot. As we picked up trash by the side of the road below...
All three condors took off slowly above us!
Spellbinding.
No flapping from these guys, just smooth gliding all the way.
There they go. Sometimes mistake for small airplanes.
the landscape also was beautiful
many blooming flowers, fragrant
Bill picked a bouquet
perhaps for the city below...
I SAW CONDORS!
OOOH YEAH!
YEAH!  CONDORS!