Celebration honors Jan Hamber, Noel and Helen Snyder and Pedro Nava

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October Report

It was another beautiful day at the Lookout on Saturday. Fall is my favorite time of the year on the Central Coast….Everything smelled fresh and the river was still passable….It was foggy when John & I arrived in the early AM …. pretty chilly for us “coastal” folks but when it cleared mid morning, you could see storm clouds moving up the Carrizo, the Pacific was steel blue…and it felt nice & warm out of the ever-present wind. I am so glad they invented “hooded sweatshirts”! Filled the bird feeders and had many “takers” (hummingbird feeders were empty, no surprise there) - On the way up we saw a spike buck, a coyote and a large covey of quail. I tracked mainly Pinnacles birds as usual, throughout the day but caught signals from several Ventana condors over in Pinnacles’ direction…(7 total birds were out and about despite the weather!)

Only one set of visitors this day….and on the way down, Pozo was having a loud “concert”. So glad to come home to the good news about lead ammo billl being signed…

-Marcelle

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Lookout Birding Field Trip Report, Oct 6, 2006

Field trip report by Alan Schmierer, Field Trip Chair, Morro Coast
Audubon Society

Location: Hi Mountain Lookout to
Huff’s Hole
Observation date: 10/6/07
Number of species: 26

Mountain Quail 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Band-tailed Pigeon 3
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1
Acorn Woodpecker 3
Nuttall’s Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 7
Western Scrub-Jay 7
Common Raven 2
Oak Titmouse 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
California Thrasher 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Spotted Towhee 10
California Towhee 3
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 2
Sage Sparrow 3
Fox Sparrow 50 Conservative number. Most not
identified by race. Photo of one appears to be “Slate-colored”.
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Golden-crowned Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 12
Western Meadowlark 1
Lesser Goldfinch 2
Lawrence’s Goldfinch 7

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6th Annual Open House

The 6th annual Hi Mountain Lookout Project open house event was attended by 55 people, coming and going throughout the day and into the evening. Thank-you to field trip leaders Alan Schmierer for birding, Dr. David Chipping for geology, and Dr. Dirk Walters for native plant outings, and to Estelle Sandhaus from the Santa Barbara Zoo for speaking in the evening about condor nest monitoring in Southern California. Paul Andreano was ill and sorely missed, so we will have to hear about his Mongolia experiences another time!


Birding field trip highlights included 2 black-throated gray warblers foraging in a valley oak near the Salinas River crossing and a pygmy owl calling in Hi Valley. Fresh bear tracks were found on Hi Mountain road near the Salinas River.


Marcelle Bakula was in charge of the annual raffle ticket sales and prize awarding. Our project benefitted with $165 raised from the raffle fundraising.

Skies were cloudless, temperatures cool with a persistent wind from the NE throughout the day. We took shelter in the lookout upstairs in the evening after another spectacular sunset to partake of Jim Duff’s now famous pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Throughout the event folks had a chance to visit and talk with friends and acquaintances, and catch up on happenings.

Once again, thanks to all for putting on the event and attending. A good day was had by all.

Steve Schubert

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Open House 2007 Schedule

Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project 6th Annual Open House/ Campout Saturday, October 6th, 2007

Schedule of Activities:

Birding Field Trip 7:30am-11:30am Hi Mountain to Hi Valley, Santa Lucia Wilderness Area, Los Padres National Forest Meet at Hi Mountain Lookout. Habitats: chaparral, blue oak woodland, riparian woodland, rocky outcrops Strenuous hiking conditions and steep slopes in the Santa Lucia Mountains. Bring water and snacks. Some poison oak along the trail. Advanced registration requested: contact Steve at s_schub@webtv.net or #805 528-6138 Leader: Alan Schmierer, Morro Coast Audubon Society field trip chairperson (for more details and information, contact field trip leader at aaschmierer@yahoo.com)

Bird Watching Field Trip 9:00am - 11:30am Pozo Valley to Hi Mountain, 3,199 ft. elev. Meet at Pozo Ranger Station. Habitats: grassland, riparian woodland at Salinas River crossing, valley oak, blue oak and coast-live oak woodlands, chaparral Easy hiking conditions and car pooling. Advanced registration requested: contact Steve at s_schub@webtv.net or #805 528-6138

Picnic lunch 11:30am - 12 noon
-Hi Mountain Lookout Interpretive Center open - please sign guest register
-Raffle tickets for sale

Welcoming comments and introductions 12 noon
-Morning birding field trip reports by trip leaders
-Hi Mountain Lookout Project year in review and recognition of staff and volunteers Steve Schubert, Volunteer Coordinator, Morro Coast Audubon Society
-Updates on the California Condor Recovery Program Condor staff
-Raffle drawing for donated prizes- annual fundraiser Afternoon activities and field trips
-Geographical landmarks- a 360 degree view from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada Kevin Cooper, USFS Wildlife Biologist
-Condor radio tracking demonstrations by condor staff and volunteers
-New volunteers training session - practicing with radio telemetry, facilities use, and scheduling Meet with Hi Mountain Lookout staff
-Native plant identification walk Leader: Dr. Dirk Walters, San Luis Obispo Chapter, California Native Plant Society
-Geology overview and walk Leader: Dr. David Chipping, Geology Professor, Cal Poly, SLO
-Animal vocalizations workshop Speaker: Kevin Cooper, USFS, Los Padres National Forest Wildlife Biologist
-Late afternoon sit down chat with condor biologists and staff, reminiscing about experiences in ‘Condor Country’

Sunset watch and dinner A gas stove and oven in the lookout staffing facilities are available for cooking and heating food. Participants are encouraged to bring a potluck dish to share with their friends and guests. Note: no campfires are permitted for cooking or during the overnight campout.Evening guest speakers 7pm

California Condor and Raptor Research powerpoint slide talks
-Estelle Sandhaus, Conservation and Research Coordinator, Santa Barbara Zoo “Condor nest guarding and monitoring efforts in Southern California”

-Paul Andreano, Santa Cruz Predatory Predatory Bird Research Group and past Hi Mtn. Lookout Intern “Trapping and banding birds of prey and life among the nomads in Mongolia, Summer 2007″

Astronomy -Telescopic observations of the evening skies
Optional Hi Mountain Campout Camping sites are available for Friday and/or Saturday nights for staff and volunteers at ‘Cypress Hill’ near the lookout. Other vehicle camping sites are located on the ridgeline near the entrance gate - with a view overlooking the mountains and coast - and at the USFS Hi Mountain Campground, located one mile down the road from the lookout. There are picnic tables and outhouses at the campground- bring your own potable water.

Driving directions are here. Please contact Steve Schubert at s_schub@webtv.net or at # (805) 528-6138 to RSVP if you are planning to attend the open house event and the number of people in your group. Thank-you.

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Website Update

Howdy folks, in case you haven’t noticed our site has been updated. Condorlookout.org is now being powered by Wordpress, and although the content hasn’t changed much, the functionality of the site has evolved tremendously. For years now I’ve been trying to find a way to allow our staff, interns, and volunteers to easily add content to this site, without having to learn web page coding. It is now possible.

As you can see, our home page is now set up in “blog” format, and our staff can publish to this page via email or by logging in right here. Photos can still be uploaded to the Photo Archive, once you’ve set up an account there. The static pages (top tabs) won’t change, and house the content from our old site. Additionally, all the list-serv posts, essays, field notes, species lists, announcements, and Hi Mt. senior projects from our old “text archive” are now accessible right here, either through the Archive page, the Archive categories/months links, or by using the search bar (at top right). Play around with it and let me know how it works for you! Paul Andreano

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