Big Sur - Thanksgiving

Spent two days exploring around Big Sur for the holiday.  The temperatures were mild, and I had heard of a Gray Whale carcass that had washed up at a notable Condor spot....conditions were excellent.

I scanned the ridge near Julia Pheiffer State Park, and saw one condor day roosting.  Even from the farthest reaches of my Alpen, I could tell that I had a California Condor in view.  I could see the tag, and the tremendous pink/orange head on the creature was unmistakeable.  Plus, the bird was massive.....but it was still abouut 3/4 of a mile away.  After about 20 minutes of watching this bird sit completely still, Beth and I heard a whirring and whoosh come from behind us as 2 adult Condor's zoomed directly above head!  They stayed close circling within 40 feet of us, and one of them even eventually set down on a bald rockface.  The looks were perfect, couldn't have asked for any better viewing of the birds.  This Condor encounter tops a majority of all my other bird experiences this year....and it felt good to have such close encounters with these Condors, the rarest of species.

We also had good luck with an AMERICAN DIPPER (406) on an early morning walk....watched that thing do its water dance for about 15 minutes.  Very excellent bird.


Here I am scanning the beach below for any Condors that might be feeding on dead things washed ashore.