Climbing Advisories and Closures 2024 (Protection of Nesting Birds of Prey)

[squiddo]

Thanks Mud.

Please avoid my sensitive areas while you are at it.

[mynameismud]

definitely

[drewzie]

hey guys! 
 I'm trying to get some aid practice, as well as some solo aid practice in on the west side.  My first instinct would be to go do the first pitches of sons of the west or son of dawn, but since there closed i'm wondering if the regular route on the balconies is still aidable.  It appears to be an aid ladder in the topo but is listed at 10b. just thought i'd ask before i head out there.  Open to any other suggestions of good aid routes to practice solo technique? thanks.

[MUCCI]

Drew-

The balconies is closed as of a few weeks ago.  There is a detailed description of the closed areas here on the site, as well as FOP friends of pinnacles.

Son of dawn's 1st pitch is not closed, only the pitches above.  It is a great route to practice Solo aid on.

Have fun!

[mungeclimber]

Lucky 13 is a bolt ladder under it's free climbing veneer.

If doing Son of Dawn P1, the trees make a good anchor. Don't do what I did.

[mynameismud]

Gavin your a mod so feel free to change this at anytime.  Or, you can send me an email.  what ever works

[Gavin]

Thanks, Mr Mud. I'll be happy to update the sticky as necessary. I'll let you know if I have any problems!

[Gavin]

Hey All -

Advisories have been updated, so let me know if you have questions or need clarifications. A few highlights: Machete is totally open for climbing, Scout and Beak Peaks are totally open for climbing, and the main walls of Balconies are open for climbing. For Scout and Beak Peaks, the advisory sign is still affixed, up south behind the outhouse, but applies only to Goat Rock and Resurrection Wall... Ignore it for climbing at Scout and Beak Peaks. For Balconies, please be aware that the south-end access - leading to south-side climbs and Balconies roof climbs - should still be avoided, and for all main wall routes, descend from the climbs via rappel, and not through Balconies roof walk-offs. (I know this is what the vast majority of people do, but I just want to mention it for clarification purposes.)

So... Anyone up for a bit of Balconies climbing one of these weekends?...

[JC w KC redux]

thanks for the update Gavin!

[F4?]

Where did the birds go?

Thanks!

[Aaron McDonald]

So... Anyone up for a bit of Balconies climbing one of these weekends?...

Lava Falls and Shake and Bake? Maybe your wife can lead since she has bagged POD?

[Gavin]

F4: the birds are still around and nesting, but I "think" the updated advisories with more open areas should still balance the needs of the falcons with climber access. Of course I will continue to monitor the nesting situation and update if needed.

Aaron: my wife is likely out of town this weekend but around thereafter. Send me an email and we can set a time to get out climbing.

[mynameismud]

this is really cool. 

[F4?]

Good to hear they are still there.

I'm sure the Turkey Vultures are still waiting for Mr. Mud....they seem to circle when he's hiking back to the car.

My question stemmed from many, many moons ago ( when the big flood hit that took out the W-side campground and the E-Side bridge) the birds didn't do so well. I didn't hear why, but we were able to climb on the Hand back then in April.

[Gavin]

Hey gang -

Just wanted to let everyone know that the climbing advisories have been lifted for the rest of the year; I updated the beginning of this thread to that effect.

I sent an email to a few folks with an update as to the breeding raptors summary for the year but thought some others might be interested in reading it here as well. The update follows below:


Here is an update as to the status of raptors at Pinnacles for the past month.

The raptor nesting season is finally wrapping up, and it has been a productive year for prairie falcons (PRFA). In fact, the 2013 breeding season has been the most productive on record for PRFA, with 10 nests successfully fledging 43 young. The peregrine falcon (PEFA) pair at Hawkins also succeeded in fledging 3 young. An 11th PRFA nest attempt - late in the season - appeared ready to fledge 3 more young, but recently failed (possibly due to predation or the intense heat we have been experiencing this past week).  A 12th PRFA pair, and a 2nd PEFA pair, occupied territories this year but were not confirmed nesting. Falcon breeding information is listed below:

Resurrection Wall: PRFA nest, fledged 5 young
Egg: PRFA nest, fledged 5 young
South Balcones: PRFA nest, fledged 3 young
Crowley Towers: PRFA nest, fledged 4 young
Citadel: PRFA nest, fledged 4 young
Pig Canyon: PRFA nest, fledged 3 young
Drywall: PRFA nest, fledged 4 young
Willow Spring Slide: PRFA nest, fledged 5 young
North Chalone Peak: PRFA nest, fledged 5 young
NE Section 15: PRFA nest, fledged 5 young
South Chalone Peak: PRFA pair, no nesting confirmed
Little Pinnacles / Yaks Wall: PRFA nest, failed
Hawkins Peak: PEFA nest, fledged 3 young
Crowley Towers / North Balconies: PEFA pair, no nesting confirmed


In general, falcon breeding activity was unusually productive this season. Although we have no direct evidence explaining this high productivity, we have noticed very limited great-horned owl activity this year, both in regards to occupancy and nesting at Pinnacles. Great horned-owls are one of the main nest predators of PRFA nests. Low owl numbers this year could help to explain the high success rate of PRFA nests in 2013.

Please note that climbing and hiking advisories are no longer in effect and all advisories have been lifted as of this week. We will be removing remaining advisory signs and updating bulletin board posters this week to reflect these changes. Thank you to all staff and visitors for respecting the advisories and contributing to raptor nest successes this year. Your ongoing efforts are sincerely appreciated!

Other breeding raptors observed in the park through June and early July include golden eagles (GOEA), red-tailed hawks (RTHA), and red-shouldered hawks (RSHA) at the following areas:

North Chalone Peak: GOEA nest
Butterfield Canyon: RTHA nest
Rose Canyon: RTHA nest
Western Front: RTHA nest
Lower Condor Gulch: RTHA nest
Frog/Hand: RTHA nest
Grassy Canyon: RTHA nest
Pinnacles Campground: 2 RSHA nests
Bench Trail / Fire Road junction: RSHA nest
McCabe Canyon: RSHA nest

4 Cooper’s hawk nests and 1 sharp-shinned hawk nest have been documented in 2013 along riparian corridors. American kestrels have been active throughout the park, and 10 nests were confirmed this year. Two white-tailed kite pairs built stick constructs this year in the bottomlands but did not successfully nest.

Thank you to all the staff and visitors that have continued to provide me with raptor observations; every detail on raptor behavior helps to provide a more complete picture of raptor breeding at the park. If anyone on staff wishes to report raptor observations as the season wraps up, I would greatly appreciate it if you please fill out a wildlife observation card, and deposit it in my box in the RRM Office, or give it to me or Nate Melling in person.

In particular, thanks to the Resources weed crew, Carlo Arreglo, Autumn Young, Michelle Armijo, Jennie Jones, Danielle Powell, Paul Johnson, Richard Neihardt, Joseph Belli, Dan Ryan, Linda Regan, Rachel Wolstenholme, Nate Melling, and Alacia Welch for raptor observations. I appreciate the support!

If you have any observations within the park to report, or any raptor-related questions, please contact me through email or extension 276. Thanks!

[mungeclimber]

Nice try Gavin! I'm not climbing at Pinnacles until the heat mellows out.


heh


Very curious that the owls are down and the falcons up in volume.

[JC w KC redux]

thanks Gavin!
Unlike munge I will be there nearly every weekend!!!

[Gavin]

Good to hear, JC... It's only supposed to be 95 degrees this Saturday! (Hey, by the afternoon it should be fine in the shade...)

[Gavin]

To Munge on the question of owl and falcon numbers: I can't say for certain that lower great-horned owl numbers are related to higher falcon productivity this year, but it is a guess.

I don't have any information on why great-horned owl numbers might be down... Different raptor species (like most wildlife) do go through cycles of "boom and bust" years, so it could just be that. Or, perhaps other factors - weather last year, disease within the species, etc. - played roles. Since great-horned owls aren't a target species, there is only limited information we gather for them every year. We did have occupancy and breeding records this year for other owls (like long-eared owls and barn owls), so other owl species seemed to be more consistently prevalent and productive. We'll see over time if any patterns and trends emerge.

[Aaron McDonald]

Gavin,

Any idea when the impending date will start for 2014?