Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
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Transcription
Gymnogyps californianus
June 26, 1946
Nr. Keck's Corner, Calif.
concern yesterday, At 12:30 we stopped about 1/2 mile
NE of where saw the dog yesterday, 4 condors flapped
out of head of a draw about 1/2 mile E. of the dog. One
min. alighted on hillside, then took off & joined the oth-
ers at about 1 minute later. They circled & rose over
NE facing slope, breeze being from NE, 4 headed, singly
about 2 miles S., then E. At 12:42, 2 adults flapped
out of same draw at foot, about 1/4 mile S. of the car,
& also circled & rose. There were 800+ above the hills
& rising at 12:54 - and then 3 more (1 min.) 2 adults)
took off from foot of the same feeding draw &
began to circle & rise. I do not think our presence
was the cause of any of these birds leaving. So, 10
total have left the draw. There 3 circled & rose, work-
ing to NW, 4 at one time a fourth was near them. They
rose to 1500+ above a flock of 500 sheep about 3
miles SE of Annette Lookout in the foothills, & I lost
them there at 1:09. Then visited the canyon from which
the condors flew. Then I found a thoroughly cleaned
sheep carcass. It lay about 300 yds. up the
shallow draw from its mouth & a little used dirt
road, on a 10+ % S. slope, 30+ vertically +100+ yds.
on the slope from ridge crest. The hills there were virt-
ually bare, the grass being close cropped by sheep,
apparently the sheep had been dragged 50+ yds.
downhill. Flushed 4 turkey vultures from it. The