10-28 to 11-1-2005, Hi Mountain Lookout

Greetings all, Just a few notes on my most recent visit to the Lookout. I made it up late Friday and stayed through Tuesday evening. It was typical Hi Mountain weather, ranging from cold and 30+mph winds, to hot and still, to dripping fog, and everything in between. Had signals for several Pinnacles birds throughout my stay, and a few Ventana birds on Halloween. With all the...

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Open House '05

Howdy all, Thanks to everyone who made it up the mountain for our 4th annual Open House, our biggest yet. Those of us who braved the weather had a terriffic time. Special thanks to Sandy Wilbur, Jan Hamber, Steve Schubert, the Hopper Interns, and the rest of the hearty souls who stayed for the evening program. We are all very lucky to have such a unique spot and...

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The Life History of AC2 by Jan Hamber, 2005

Now that AC2 is free, I thought that you all might enjoy reading about AC2 and why this formerly free flying wild bird is so important to the recovery of the species. First of all, there were only ten formerly free flying wild condors in captivity in 1987 of which AC2 was one. AC2 and his mate AC3 were first seen on Jan. 9, 1976 by Dick Smith and Jan Hamber as they soared along the escarpment of...

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MCAS in Audubopn Magazine

Howdy folks,The current issue of Audubon Magazine features this article on the MCAS and Hi Mountain Lookout.I pasted the text below, or you can follow this link to the story…..Paul http://magazine.audubon.org/fieldnotes/fieldnotes0509.html#Chapter Chapter SpotlightOn the Lookout It was on an early spring day last year that SteveSchubert of the Morro Coast Audubon Society set offwith...

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Lookout News

Hi all Over this past weekend, Julie, Emily and I went to visit the condors and condor crew up in Ventana. We had an incredible time! First of all… Big thanks to Jim, who spent three days with us, showing us everything, Jess, Sayre, and James. You all were awesome! I look forward to working with you all again some time! Jim took us out along the coast to track some birds. We got to...

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Big Birds and Little Birds

Since our lookout carries an avian theme it’s not suprising their are 3 hummingbird feeders stocked with daily fresh sugar water. The result is 25 to 30 Anna’s Allen’s and Rufous Hummers hanging out atthe lookout,with 4-6 at a time at the feeders. A pecking order based on age and bravado determines the right to feed. While tracking a condor last week ( visiting from Big Sur) the...

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Lookout News

Hi all, Julie and I had a good three days up at the Lookout! Although we missed Greg since he switched shifts! The weather was nice, about 85 degrees and breezy all weekend long. On Sunday, we took a day off from field work to do a full day of telemetry, and we ended up getting around 25 visitors! There were a couple caravans of about 8-10 people and their dogs that were out...

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July 17-19

Hello Everyone,This week was just as exciting as the last. Aside from receivingsignals on multiple birds this weekend, we also trapped for mammalsand had a wonderful time. The weather just keeps getting hotter andhotter. We have to fill the birdbath up almost three times a day.There is a California Towhee who is very ritualistic about his eveningbath. The reptiles have been very active in the heat...

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Hi Mtn. rodent live-trapping research

Hi all,Dr. Larisa Vredevoe, professor in the Cal Poly Bio. Sci. Dept., and herstudents are conducting research using Hi Mountain Lookout as a fieldlaboratory station. This past weekend 8 rodents were live-trapped- anunepected low capture rate from the 64 live traps set out the nightbefore- and processed at the lookout ‘laboratory’ for a study on thecentral coast to determine the prevalance of rodent...

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July 10th, 11th and 12th

Hello Everyone, Yet, another beautiful weekend at the Hi Mountain Lookout. This weekend was very exciting because we received signals from birds that we haven’t received yet this summer. It is always neat to think that new birds are in the area. The weather this week was spectacular! For the first time this summer the fog was lifted from the beach and we could see down to...

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First Intern Shift News

Hello Everyone,The summer field season is now well under way at Hi Mountain Lookout. Three interns started their first official shift this past weekend, and we had a wonderful time! On the first day, Greg and I hiked down to Hi Valley to do some point counts and find some study plots, while Julie and her sister Hollydid telemetry at the lookout. The Hi Valley hike was simply gorgeous!...

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Lookout Training News

Just a quick update from the Lookout crew. The Cal Poly interns and volunters spent the early part of the week training up at Hi Mountain. We learned everything from how to keep the Lookout running smoothly to how to collect our data. We even got a lesson in how difficult it can be to get from point A to point B when faced with a dense stand of brush! Some of us went on...

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Training at Hopper

Hi All, All the new interns and volunteers just completed great telemetry training from the folks at Hopper. The fog was unbelievable and we couldn’t see five feet in front of us but we still had a great time.Can’t wait to put all this new knowledge to work. I’d like to give special thanks to the people at Hopper for dedicating their time and effort. We really appreciate all their...

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KSBY Interview

Hi all,Anchorwoman Wendy Thies interviewed staff and volunteers today at Hi Mountain Lookout. The interview will air on KSBY TV news at 6:30pm this Thursday, June 16th, and repeat on the following Friday morning news broadcast. The Lookout Project interview is one of the ‘Nature Watch’ series, broadcast weekly. Steve SchubertVolunteer Coordinator, Hi Mountain Condor Lookout...

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Summer '05 Field Season

Since the inception of the Hi Mountain Lookout Project 9 years ago,Morro Coast Audubon Society has had a rewarding and successfulcollaboration with several organizations and many hard working staff andvolunteers. The rehabilitation of an old abandoned fire lookout into afunctioning biological research station and interpretive visitor centerhas been a source of great satisfaction and pride for all...

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Lookout Visit

Hi all, Today I drove a van field trip to Hi Mountain Lookout- with 11 participants- for a “Condor Country” class offered through Cuesta College Community Programs. Along Hi Mtn. Rd. we met up with the PozoWildflower Weekend field trip led by Charlie Blair, President of the SLO chapter of the California Native Plant Society. After we looked over the vegetation growing on the...

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Events

Hi all, On Saturday, May 7th a group of a dozen volunteers and staff put in a 9 hour workday at Hi Mountain Lookout. A number of maintenance, repair, and general cleaning tasks were completed and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to talk and socialize throughout the day, catching up on things. This upcoming weekend (May 14th) is the annual Pozo Wildflower Weekend field trip...

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Condor Sightings in SLO Co.

Hi all, During the last ten days, 3 different observers with good descriptions have reported 2 condors flying together at the following locations: Santa Rosa Creek Rd. and Cypress Mountain Rd. intersection (12 miles east of Cambria), east Cuesta Ridge near the towers, and at Beartrap Mountain in the La Panza Range (historic condor nesting location). We will use the telonics...

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2004 Year in Review

Hi all,Here is a summary of the activities and accomplishments of the HiMountain Lookout Project during 2004: January-Planning session at Cal Poly- 8 staff and volunteers, revising andupdating the Volunteer User Manual (revisions were completed by end of2004 and the handbook will be distributed to all volunteers). Morro Bay Natural History Museum Condor Exhibit Open House (the VWScondor exhibit...

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