During the 1970s, part of my research on California condors involved compiling records of condor mortality, based on the existence of condor specimens in museums, plus condor deaths reported in newspapers, books, diaries, journals, and other written sources. My principal objectives in continuing the documentation started by Carl B. Koford (in the 1930s and 1940s) and Fred C. Sibley (in the 1960s), were to see if through mortality records: (1) we could further refine our understanding of the geographical and chronological decline of the species; and (2) we could better describe the impact on the population of various causes of mortality. The results of this effort included 300 records of condor mortality, representing a minimum of 288 individual condors. It was published in:

Wilbur, S. R. 1978. The California condor, 1966-76: a look at its past and future. North American Fauna Number 72. Washington, D. C., U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 136 pages.

[The full text of my monograph is now available on-line. Just do a word search for "North American Fauna" and "condor," and you should find it.]

In the thirty years that have passed since my first report, new and improved ways to document condor mortality have opened up. In 1978, I thought my compilation was nearly as complete as it could get, but that was before the days of data entry on web pages, search engines, and rapid communication by e-mail. Just a little research showed me that there was much more that could be added to the record. The book I am currently working on combines the results of the new search with my original work, and permits some refinements of earlier conclusions.

The technical information, while important, is (as Carl Koford once said about his own monograph on the California condor), hardly "readable and breezy." Also, the data tell only a small part of a fascinating tale of the California condors' decline to near extinction. I'm including THE FACTS here, to be sure, and my re-analysis of those facts. But this time I'm digging deeper in my files, and pulling out the information behind the basic data: the stories of the people, places, and events that (as they say) "made it all happen."

As I complete chapters of "Nine Feet," I'll put them here to be read by those folks who are interested in old condor stories. The writing is still rough in spots, but you'll see what I'm doing. If you have questions, comments, corrections, new info, if you'd especially like the reference for some bit of information, etc., I'll be happy to hear from you.