Hi notes

The Condors are still shunning Atascadero, so as far as monitoring
goes, it’s pretty quiet on Hi Mountain. I arrived at the lookout at
0830 Wed. Jan 8 and picked up no signals all day. It was sunny and
warm in the morning and got cooler as the day progressed. There was a
lot of bird activity: Calif. Thrashers, Spotted and Calif. Towhees, a
flock of American and Lesser Goldfinches, Golden Crowned Sparrows,
two Red Tailed Hawks, a Northern Harrier, Wrentits, Scrub Jays, Calif
Quail, and Turkey Vultures. With monitoring taking up little time, I
was able to go for a few longer walks and explore the trail that
leads toward the south. After having watched the Lord of the Rings’
second installment, The Two Towers, I could imagine the movie having
been filmed in the rugged ranges around Lopez Lake! The sun and
shadows were spectacular on the mountains surrounding the lookout!
That’s all for now…I miss the Condors, but it’s a good thing that
they aren’t hanging out in Atascadero. Bye for now…
Kathleen