Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
California Condor
Eben Mcmillan
4 July 1963
a cold north wind was blowing as we arrived at the U.S.
Forest Service lookout on Breckenridge Mountain by Willis Arm.
The temperature had dipped to 38 degrees at this station last
winter. We were told by Mr. Morrison, who with his wife
attends to the lookout as well as patrols the forest camps and
roads in the Mt. Breckenridge area.
Neither Mr. or Mrs. Morrison had seen any large birds
on Breckenridge Mountain. Mr. Morrison had seen Buzzards
when patrolling in the Valleys below. They were both interested
in Condor and were hoping to see some but it is doubtful if
they will know the difference between Condor and Eagles, Dr.
Buzzards, for that matter. The only birds they professed to know
were Quail and Dove. I showed them photographs of Condor,
and pointed out the identifying features to look for. They had been
on the mountain for 6 weeks and still knew very little of the
gography, except the mountain peaks close-by.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Morrison possessed a keen interest in
wildlife and on my suggestion will put out a feeding and
watering station near their lookout tower.
Two different Television broadcasting stations have
sizeable developments at the top of Breckenridge Mountain.
Electricity has been brought in from the Walker Basin side,
and a year-around road is maintained to the top. Some
people who tend the T.V. equipment reside in a sizeable
house near one of the complete broadcasting and receiving
stations that is located about 4 mile west of the Forest Service
lookout. Considerable vehicular traffic uses this road both day and
night.
On the west slope of Breckenridge Mountain a sizeable development
has been in progress for many years. Four or Five Sections of land, about
[illegible] ft. level has been subdivided and sold to people who have
built weekend homes here. An aired road comes up from
Bakersfield to this point. Just what disturbance this —