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

[JC w KC redux]

Thanks Gavin.
Awesome that so much stuff can stay open.
I changed the year to 2018 in the sticky title and the other posts with regard to 2018

[Gavin]

Heads up everyone - there is a Mandatory Closure that just went into effect for the south end of Machete. I just updated the first page of this thread with the relevant details.

In the spirit of full disclosure - the closure was put into effect because there is a pair of California condors that is nesting on the east side of Machete. The condor pair nested in the same area successfully in 2016, and they are trying again this year. The closure was put into effect to prevent people from disturbing the condor pair's nest effort.

The Mandatory Closure is supported by the park superintendent and the condor biologist crew at the park because condors are critically endangered, so we have a federal mandate to protect them, and to keep them from being disturbed while they are nesting.

There will be closure signs posted on the access trail leading south around the base of Machete, after Dos Equis and Corona (which are still open). Please don't hike back up in there... There will be condor biologists monitoring the site, and they will call in law enforcement rangers if they see visitors hiking - or especially climbing - in the area.

I'll cross-post this on a new thread too so that folks can see it.

Thanks for your support!

[clink]

MOUSE DROPPINGS

An eagle swoops down from the sky and eats a mouse. Three hours later, while the eagle is flying, the mouse sticks its head out of the eagle's butt and asks, "How high up are we?"

"About 2,000 feet," the eagle replies.

The mouse replies, "You ain't sh*ttin' me, are you?"

 Raptor biologist humor? 

[JC w KC redux]

Raptor biologist humor? 

Funny dude - extra stars for combining with toilet humor 

[djh650]

Yelled out to some guys on lava yesterday, they seemed to speak mandarin and didnt care what i had to say.

[JC w KC redux]

Thanks for the effort.
I took pictures of the party on Shake and Bake about a month ago and reported them to a volunteer who radioed back to the Ranger. He also talked to them after they came down.

[Gavin]

Hey gang -

Just a heads-up that climbing advisories have (finally) been lifted for the year.

Note that the mandatory closures at Machete (affecting the southwest, south, and east faces of Machete including Old Original) are still in effect, due to ongoing condor nesting efforts..

Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for the support!

[clink]

 Thanks Gavin for all your work and communication!

[F4?]

Mud falcons?

[Zay]

Hey Gavin,

Is there any thoughts on when the little tyke might fledge? I'm assuming that's when the closure lifts? Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for all your work.

Zay

edit: Im hoping to do Los Banditos this next week, but I know the final pitch puts me on top of Old Original Pitch 3 (condors only)... Im planning on bailing off the routes final pitch onto Rappel Bypass... which drops me off under the rappel pitch of old original (the end of pitch 5 i believe).

If ive done my homework correctly... I should be good, no?

Of course, Im happy to back off and just do something else.

[Gavin]

Hey Zay -

Yep, you are good to go with your plan on Los Banditos, heading to Rappel Bypass.

Condors take a long time to develop as nestlings before they finally fly for the first time. I would guess that the condor young will fledge (have powered flight for the first time) sometime in later September or into early October, but will still be dependent on the parents for food in the area for the next month or two.

I'll keep everyone posted as the situation develops!

[F4?]

Sounds like my life...why leave the nest if the going is good?

[Zay]

this guy landed right next to me on condor crag north summit. he even walked right uo to my white helmet, which i had placed just an arms length away... and then he picked at it a few times before flipping it over, which startled him so he jumped back a few feet. then he stayed there for thr next 20 minutes as my partner gsined thr summit. we admired him for a bit then rapped off.

then, as we about to start pulling the rope, a hiker shouted, "hes trying to eat your rope!" sure as shit, i could see his feathers poking out over the lip, so i quickly pulled the rope. no damage.

but i wonder if i should have actually tried to deter him from apprpaching me (seriosuly i could have slapped him). humans are bad, and he should know that, right?

i swatted at him and said "git!" but he was 100% unphased.

cool experience though.

im having trouble trying to find out WHICH "26" he/she is...

[Zay]

btw that picture was taken with an iPhone

[Tuff Chik]

Zay - I went to the Condor Spot web page and with the color tag of this condor it looks like this is the bird:

CA Condor #726 a/k/a Little Stinker
Sex: Female
Hatch Location & Date: San Diego Wild Animal Park, 3/18/2013
Release Date: 11/11/2016 (San Simeon)
Parents:  #20 and #157
Local Biological Siblings: #168, #199, #209
Breeding Status: Unpaired
Offspring: None
Little Stinker is named after the plane that won the US Female Aerobatic Championship in the late 1940s. This petite condor spends much of her time in the pen performing daring flight maneuvers. This includes flying into the walls of the pen and jumping over other condors on the perch. Since her release, Little Stinker has taken her aerobatic performances on tour, all over the central coast.

[Brad Young]

Nice shot! There's  a certain beauty there, in that face. Is it the eyes?

[JC w KC redux]

Yell, clap, stomp - generally make noise until they vacate if possible. We have had similar experiences with them acting unaffected by our presence and they are curious creatures. Probably part of the problem is raising them in captivity before their release into the wild.  


By the way - just a suggestion for posting pics - Reduce your file size to 500KB or choose the medium medium option if using Flikr so we can see your entire pic without scrolling. You can also consult clink if you need more help.  

That's a really nice picture!

[Brad Young]

...you can also consult clink if you need more help.  

God help us (now, quickly, I'm off to the emergency room to get my eyes treated - they rolled way too far back and won't recover).

[mynameismud]

cool pic, love the scowl

[mungeclimber]

feral bird