Marcelle Bakula Named Cambria Citizen of the Year

We are very proud to announce that Hi Mountain Lookout staffer Marcelle Bakula has been named as Cambria California's Citizen of the Year!

Marcelle Bakula has been a volunteer since with the Lookout Project since 2004, and has become the driving force behind our fundraising and volunteer training efforts. Marcelle helps keep the Lookout open to the public (during spring and fall) in order to educate visitors and provide tracking data. She also helps with the Annual Open House, Winter Bird Festivals,  and all kinds of other public outreach.

"The Cambria Chamber of Commerce has selected Marcelle Bakula as the town’s 2013 Citizen of the Year. She was among three candidates recommended by a group of previous Citizens of the Year. The chamber board made the final decision. Bakula is an inveterate volunteer and ultimate organizer who leads and coordinates all sorts of events, from art auctions to wildlife care, from the historical society bookstore to a classic bicycle race and other events."

You can read the entire article at the Tribune website here. Congratulations Marcelle, and thanks for all you do!

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/12/20/2334215/marcelle-bakula-is-cambrias-citizen.html#storylink=botnext#storylink=cpy

Read More

Mike Tyner Honored in the Congressional Record

It gives us great pleasure to announce that our Mike Tyner has been honored in the Congressional Record by a statement made on December 12, 2012 by Congressman Sam Farr.

"Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to honor the memory of Mike Tyner. Mike gave his life to help endangered species flourish, and his life is a reminder that we can all play a part in devoting ourselves to making the world a healthier and more beautiful place."

You can read the entire text here.

Read More

Jan Hamber - Protector of the Condor

From the Santa Barbara Independent
http://www.independent.com/news/2012/nov/21/local-heroes-2012/

Jan Hamber - Protector of the Condor

Of all the species faced with extinction, few came as close and meant so much as the California condor. “It was the symbol of wilderness,” recalled Jam Hamber, who’s fought for the bird’s survival since the 1970s. “It was the symbol of freedom.”

Wanting to be a naturalist since age 9, Hamber started bird-watching as a Cornell University student in the 1950s, and began volunteering in 1959 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, where, among other duties, she painted the tule reeds, set cactus spines in the original bird exhibit, and helped clean birds after the great oil spill of 1969, the year she was also hired as an employee. In the mid 1970s, legendary naturalist Dick Smith needed help tracking condors, and she signed right up. “It was my dream to be an outdoor naturalist, not an indoor naturalist,” said Hamber, who still works at the museum today as a condor archivist. “It was my dream come true.”

From 1976-1985, Hamber tracked a pair of condors named Groucho and Spot and participated in many of the recovery program’s milestones, including her call to the trappers who captured the last wild condor. “It was one of the hardest things I ever did,” said Hamber of that event on Easter Sunday 1987. “It still affects me.” But she doesn’t regret it, never agreeing that, as some argue, the bird should have gone extinct with dignity. “I don’t think there’s anything dignified about being poisoned with lead and slowly dying in a month,” said Hamber, who’s frustrated that lead ammunition remains the dominant yet preventable cause of condor woes.
Thanks to Hamber and the countless others she’s worked with over the years, those 27 last condors bred and are now 410 individuals, including 230 flying free in the wild. Said Hamber, “My goal has always been to save the species.”

Read More

Condors over Hi Mt. Again...

GPS transmitter info shows two condors flew over the lookout and Huff's Hole yesterday - condors 449 and 526, flew north along the Lopez ridge, and then returned to south to the upper Sisquoc area. Hopefully we see more of these forays into their old haunts! 

Read More

Open House 2012 Re-cap

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Hello all,

Thank-you to all the staff, volunteers, field trip leaders and evening presenters for making the open house event a success, and to the two girl scout troops conducting a service project removing invasive yellow-star thistle.

More than 70 adults and kids attended, including a good turnout for the birding and native plant identification field trips. The fundraising auction and merchandise sales generated more than $700 for the project's operating expenses and internship support.

Those who stayed on throughout the evening enjoyed the complimentary wine tasting by Saucelito Canyon winery, evening potluck dinner (and Jim's famous upside down cake for dessert!) and PowerPoint presentations by our guest speakers.

We will be planning an event this spring, will keep you posted. - Steve Schubert

Read More

11th Annual Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Campout and Open House Event

Saturday, October 6, 2012 (all day event)
@Hi Mountain Lookout, SLO County, Los Padres National Forest
                       
Come and discover one of the largest and most endangered flying birds of North America. California Condors are radio tracked from Hi Mountain Lookout. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about condor biology and the reintroduction of these magnificent birds back to the wild. The open house event will include condor radio-tracking demonstrations, native plant identification, bird watching field trips, and hands-on activities for kids.

Read More

Hi Mt. Weather

Excerpt from Meteorologist John Lindsey's August 2nd weather forecast:

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS:A strong temperature inversion layer continues to produce extensive and persistent coastal low clouds and areas of fog along the immediate coastline. At 7 a.m. the temperature at the Santa Margarita Fire Department at 1,000 feet of elevation was 52 degrees, while at the same time, Condor Lookout at 3,200 feet of elevation was 80 degrees.

- Steve Schubert

Read More

Hi Mt weather report

Here is an excerpt from today's weather report by meteorologist John Lindsey, with a mention about Hi Mountain Lookout (and temp. information from the online weather station):

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS:Skies were clear and temperatures were cool throughout the Central Coast this morning. However, this morning's temperature was 58-degrees at Condor Lookout on Hi Mountain at about 3,200-feet of elevation, while temperatures along the coastline were mostly in the high-40s. This condition is singling thebeginning of a temperature inversion layer. Consequently, look for marine low clouds to develop along the beaches during the late-night and early morning hours beginning tonight and continuing through Sunday. Clear and sunny conditions are expected to continue during the late morning and afternoon hours along the beaches.

-Steve Schubert

Read More

Mike Tyner Memorial Event Re-cap

Hello all,

The Mike Tyner Memorial Event at Hi Mountain Lookout on May 19th was attended by many family, friends, and colleagues. It was a sunny day with a brisk offshore breeze, folks socializing and sharing fond memories of Mike, potluck lunch, and a raffle and silent auction fundraiser for the memorial fund that will help support future internships at Hi Mountain Lookout. Several stayed for the sunset viewing and overnight campout.

Thank-you to all the event planners and attendees. It was a nice way to commemorate all of Mike's contributions over the years to the Lookout Project and the Condor Recovery Program, and reminisce about the many ways Mike impacted the lives of all those who came his way. He is missed.

Steve Schubert

Read More

Thanks Mike. Video by Andy Ganick.

Read More

Condor sightings in SLO CO

A ccondor was also reported today in flight over Coon Creek in Montana De Oro
State Park. Probably the same I.D. as the condor found yesterday on the coast
at Pt. Buchon.
Four condors were also reported over the Santa Lucia Mountains near Hearst
Castle in April...these are recent reports in San Luis Obispo County after a
dearth of condor sightings the past several years.

Steve Schubert
www.condorlookout.org<http://www.condorlookout.org/>

From: Chris Arndt<mailto:chris@...>
To: Hi_MountainCondor@yahoogroups.com<mailto:Hi_MountainCondor@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 7:42 AM
Subject: [CondorLookoutProject] 538 Miracle spotted along Pecho Coast trail/Pt.
Buchon


John Lindsey mentioned this event this morning several times during his
weather forecasts on the KVEC Morning News.

The condor was seen, photographed, and IDed by PG&E field biologists
working in the Pt. Buchon area.

Chris

Read More

Mike Tyner Memorial Event - May 19 @ Hi Mt.

Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Hi Mountain Lookout, Los Padres National Forest

Brother, son, cousin, biologist, friend, student, teacher, mentor. Mike Tyner dedicated his life to the understanding and protection of nature. He died on November 30th, 2011, while protecting the birds that he loved in Big Sur. Mike graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a degree in Ecology and Systematic Biology in 2003. He got his start in field biology at the Hi Mountain Condor Lookout, and eventually became the field supervisor for the Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Recovery Program.

Mike was an avid birder, botanist, naturalist, and a beloved friend to many.  He was a positive and influential force in the world, spreading his love and enthusiasm for nature to all of those that he touched. Mike is gone, but he will never forgotten, especially not at Hi Mountain.  Please come celebrate his life with us on Saturday May 19th at one of Mike’s favorite places…..the Hi Mountain Condor Lookout.

Read More

Donations

The Hi Mountain Lookout Project has received the following donations.
Thank-you!

Supplies and materials:

Sara Silverberg, Arroyo Grande -- plastic cups, plates, napkins, bowls &
silverware

Marcelle Bakula, Cambria -- fixing/reframing interpretive center photos

Financial donations:

Michael and Phyllis Hischier, San Luis Obispo

Paul and Judith Burkhardt, Creston

Donations can be made by writing a check to

'MCAS Hi Mountain Project" and mailing to:

Morro Coast Audubon Society

Po Box 1507
Morro Bay, CA 93443-1507



Contributions are tax deductible under IRS Code 501(c)(3).




Morro Coast Audubon Society tax I.D. # 23-7165021

Read More