Conrad, the California Condor

The air was moist as the southerly breeze carried with it a salty flavor of the ocean’s water as it made it inland where this family condor made its home. Their home, high up in the mountains of the Pinnacles National Monument Park is a special protected area that is made up of the volcanic rock formations left behind after the volcano that was located there became extinct. This beautiful park is located about 40 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and about an hour. Spouting jagged peaks of over 3,000 feet into the sky, they are part of California’s Coast Ranges where this protected endangered bird species makes its home.

Condors are big flying birds and said to be the largest of this species in North America. Having suffered being hunted for many years as misunderstood predator and falling victim to the growth of man in their habitat many have died because of chemical poisoning. Today, they are slowly making a comeback in numbers where they are becoming seen more often than before.

Conrad is lucky to be a part of a small condor family roosting high up in the mountains. Living with his mother and father for about five years now, it was time for him to leave and fly off into the wilderness to be on his own. He enjoyed the play time he had with his parents as the games they played made him learn how to hunt and find his own food but he knew it was time to fly.

His mother, during one of her stories about the family and where they came from told Conrad he had an older sister living somewhere near the Grand Canyon in another state and after learning about his sister’s existence, he has been wanting to go see her and maybe live out there with her for a while.

Making noises that sound like growls or grunts, Conrad told his parents he was ready to fly away and find his sister. Not very happy about his decision to leave the roost and fly such a long distance on his own, they tried talking him out of it but with no success. Conrad had made up his mind and decided to fly east towards Arizona.

Sitting up high near the summit of the peaks, Conrad took one more look at his home up there in the mountains and said to his mama “I will find my sister and be happy knowing that I had a good time living here with you and papa. I will miss you all and think of you often but you know it is time for me to fly.”

Mama said to Conrad “just be careful son, it’s a dangerous world out there and people are very cold towards us. They think that just because we are so big we are vicious and dangerous so they shoot at us for no reason at all.”

Papa added an extra word of caution to Conrad by saying “stay high son, keep your wings facing the currents and watch out for those high strung power lines that they have put out there in the desert for before you know it, you will hit one and knock you down to the ground breaking your neck.”

Good advice from his parents, Conrad was ready to fly. One more glance at his parents and off he went. Taking a deep dive off the jagged peak, he spread his giant wings to catch the swift moving wind currents and off he went. Soaring and now just a speck in the distance, the parent condors pray for their son’s safe arrival in the Grand Canyon in the next few weeks.

K een eyesight and very similar to the habits of more common vultures that are related to him, Conrad spread his nine feet wide wings and soared off to his new destination. About an hour into his flights he caught a glimpse of something flying on his right side but not as high or not as fast as him sensing this thing was following him in the distance but not catching up with him intentionally.

Reaching his neck out a bit and turning his head to see if he could see who was following him, he saw a black feathered with brownish color shape of a bird behind him. Conrad was a big black bird that had a keen sense of smell and could find something to eat from high up above. Being a scavenger was not a popular thing thus he hung out only with those who behaved the same.

Following the wind currents, Conrad was making good time and was getting hungry. Sensing some movement down there below, he swooped down a little bit closer to see what the commotion was all about. It appeared there were other birds flying in circles around what looked like a carcass of a large animal lying in the tall green grass where the water was fresh and cool to drink.

Coming down from the sky, Conrad heard the wise words of his papa and looked out for those high strung power line wires that are almost invisible when the sun starts going down. Being almost all black and with a black background now in the darkened sky, Conrad swooped down to get something to eat for he was indeed hungry from flying without stopping now for many hours.

His keen sense of smell told him it was something good to eat as he came down for his final turn to land in the grass within about ten feet from his prey. Suddenly, he realized that getting his meal was not going to be as easy as he thought it would be. Although much bigger than the other birds, there were more of them and they were unwilling to share the carcass with Conrad the intruder.

Sensing anger and making hissing and other noises to scare him off, Conrad felt uninvited and decided to leave them for there was just not enough energy in him to fight them after flying for such a long time. Looking for an escape from the noisy birds he noticed that the black feathered shadow that had followed him for so many miles had also landed and took a position behind him as if to protect him from the other birds.

Realizing that this stranger was helping Conrad with getting his part of the meal, he decided to move forward towards the carcass with this stranger at his side to protect him from an attack from the rear. The other birds, smaller and now getting scared of the big black bird and his unknown partner gave way to the carrion and left in a hurry to find something else to eat somewhere else.

Showing his manners, he offered the black bird a part of the meat and took a bite or two before asking the stranger his name. Speaking with a deep voice, Conrad said to the stranger “thank you for backing me up there because I was really hungry but I didn’t want to fight for the meal.”

Giggling, the black bird replied “well, I was hungry too and I figured between the two of us, we would scare the heck out them since we are both so much bigger than them.”

Laughing a little between bites Conrad said to the bird “what’s your name and what are you doing following me like you have all day?”

“Oh sorry” said the bird, where are my manners “I am Veronica, the vulture, I am a distant relative of yours and I heard you were going on a trip east so I decided to follow you in case I get lost.”

“Oh, really” said Conrad “and how do you know I want company on this trip? Huh, did you just think you could fly with me and bother me without asking me for permission?”

“Duh, excuse me” said Veronica, “I don’t need your permission. This is free air space and I just thought you might want the company to wherever you are going.”

Sensing he had offended Veronica, he said “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, and of course you are welcome to fly along with me but let’s eat because it’s getting darker.”

After eating the flesh, Conrad burped a few times saying “excuse me” about a dozen times causing Veronica to laugh every time. Tired and now with a belly full of food, the two decided that they had to find a safe place to sleep so they can start off early the next morning for they still had a long way to go.

Finding a high cave on some rocky terrain, they found a place where they would be out of the wind and out of the chilling air. Somewhat shy of being with a female bird on this trip and not knowing much about her, he offered to sleep near the entrance of the cave to stand guard and make sure they were safe.

Veronica in a soft and gratifying voice said to Conrad “I don’t even know your name but you know mine, can I ask you your name?”

“Conrad, it is Conrad and go to sleep, its late and I don’t feel like talking right now, okay.”

The stars in the darkened sky twinkled all night long until the break of day when the sun peeked over the high hill just to the east of where they decided to sleep inside that cave. Having a hard time falling asleep, Conrad stared at the sky as a comet streaked by leaving a flashing orange fire trail behind. A couple of minutes later, another orange flash was seen in the sky as Conrad felt weary and finally went asleep. As the light shined inside the cave giving them both the feeling of warmth and comfort, it was time to wake up and fly away.

The sun was warm but the air was chilly. It was the high altitude that made it as frosty as they both prepared to take flight from the edge of the cave. Conrad, knowing his wings were very wide and very long told Veronica not to follow him to close as they leapt off the ledge for he was afraid his wings would clip her and knock her down to the ground below.

Being nice Conrad said to her “give me about a minute head start as I have to catch the wind currents just right to pick up speed. You are not as big as me and you can fly easier from the start without any help from the wind.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Veronica waited for Conrad to leap off the ledge and as he opened up his large wings to catch the currents, he swoops down in a circle before he began to slowly climb back up to where he wanted to be in the sky. Veronica had no problem with her takeoff from the ledge and took the position of the right side of Conrad once they met up again in midair. Flying not too close as Conrad warned, she could feel the breeze coming from the wind currents carrying them and smoothly drifted away into the distance.

The days went by without any major events and as the two shared their meals without bickering, they became good friends and found out both of them liked to eat once a day and sleep in cool caves. They also found out both of them had a lot in common with each other and their family backgrounds.

Both were birds of prey. Both had a high sense of smell to find their meal and both didn’t like to eat roadkill. They preferred fresher meat from larger animals. Conrad never lived near people and when he found out from Veronica that she had lived nearby humans, he was curious of their habits.

One night, the two of them were sitting high up in a protected cliff away from the world, but still very high up in the mountains to fear predators. While talking about their families and their experiences, Conrad asked again about humans and what they do. Veronica, speaking with a frightened voice told Conrad that humans are d dangerous and kill animals without purpose or eating them. She told him of stories where she saw men with rifles shooting at birds and ducks and other animals but never going out to get them and take them home to eat or devour like they do when they find a meal.

Conrad, thinking out loud said, “It sounds like they kill for the fun of it instead of eating what they kill.”

“Well, now that you mention it” said Veronica, “they do enjoy the kill but never eat all they kill letting it just rot there in the fields where they land.”

My daddy always told me “girl, don’t complain so much about humans and them killing so much. This gives us all food to eat and it’s easier because they are already dead for us to eat. It’s better than roadkill.”

“I guess my daddy is right about that” said Veronica “but I am afraid that one of these days, it will be one of us they shoot and that’s just not right.”

Conrad had to ask Veronica something that had been bothering him. He said to her “do you mean you have to kill sometimes to eat?”

Looking at him strangely, Veronica said “yes, sometimes we must kill what we eat, don’t you?”

Conrad, puzzled said “no, we always find food that is already dead and never starve. I guess we have been lucky that we don’t have to kill to eat.”

Flying a few more days more, they saw a herd of buffaloes and decided to check things out as they looked like a good meal from the air if they can find one already dead. Landing in what is called the Yellowstone National Park, the two of them settled down near a stream of icy clear water that was filled with fish swimming up and down looking for food.

The first thing the two noticed was the many different species of huge animals, birds, fish and reptiles that lived there. The area was made of high trees, vast grasslands, and all kinds of plants. Nothing they saw however, made them feel like eating until they spotted the carcass of a big black and white cow that had died for one reason or another. Getting up closer to the carcass they realized that it had been killed by a grizzly bear that was looking for something to eat for its cubs.

Suddenly, Conrad realized something different from those other places where they ate and found something to eat. This place had a lot of humans around. In fact, Conrad saw for the very first time an automobile up close as they flew down to see where they could land to eat their meal. More and more, Conrad sensed the presence of humans and he didn’t like the feeling.

Veronica, calm and sensing the anxiety in Conrad tried to calm him down and said to him “take it easy Conrad, they won’t bother you.” These are people who came here to sightsee and leave food behind for other animals to eat. They are our friends.”

“No” said Conrad “these humans are not our friends. I don’t trust them. Look at them; they are all looking at us like they want to eat us.”

“Not so Conrad,” they have never seen a big flying bird like you before and are gawking at you and look at those flashes, those are cameras taking pictures of us.”

“Nevertheless, I don’t like it” said Conrad as he strolled back to the meal and began to eat. Nervous and looking back at the humans, he said to Veronica “are you going to eat or are you going to pose for them humans all day.”

Veronica, now laughing said to Conrad “don’t be such a grouch, you know you I like the attention, and every girl does too.”

The two spent almost a week at the park and ate well before they decided to head south southwest towards Arizona. Still a few weeks away, they decided that it was best to catch the wind currents early in the morning to take flight.

Getting ready to fly, Conrad stopped and felt his belly ache. Looking at Veronica he said “I think I ate too much and I am too stuffed to fly right now. How about you” he asked.

Veronica, sensing a little hesitation in his voice said to him “Conrad, if you want to stay another day or so, it’s okay with me. I don’t mind.”

“Are you okay Conrad, do you miss your mama and papa?”

“No, it’s not that, I feel like I want to stay here as if this is where I belong.”

“Hmm, maybe but that don’t make no sense, you wanted to go see our sister and I am sure once you get there you will be happy.”

“I know I’m confused right now. I don’t know what I want anymore.”

“Maybe we should stay here a little bit longer and think about it” said Veronica.

“Yeah, I think that’s best right now” let’s find a place to rest up and watch what others are doing today. I feel like just hanging out today.”

A couple of days passed and Conrad was getting anxious about his plans. Finally, he asked Veronica “what do you want to do, go or stay here?”

“Oh no, you aren’t going to put a guilt trip on me Conrad, you decide.”

“Okay then, fluttering his large wings and shaking out his feathers. Let’s go and fly.”

The two soared up high into the sky leaving the park behind. The snow peaked mountains, melting and warming up even at night, provided wind currents that were swift and turbulent in manner. Picking up too much speed is dangerous for these birds as their ability to maneuver and make turns in midair was risky to say the least. Staying apart from each other to allow their wings to catch the wind they flew into the distance and followed the river that runs below going south southwest.

These peaks were high. Higher than anything ever before and Conan, worried that Veronica, much smaller than him and struggling to fight wind currents with a smaller wingspan to keep up with him, was tiring quickly decided to find a place to land and rest for a while.

The Rocky Mountains are some of the highest peaks in the land and Conan was splitting his flight pattern between high peaks that were still covered with snow and frigid air making the trek more difficult for the two of them.

Flying high like this is harder because of the cold air up there compared to the warmer air down below where the humans lived. Watching out for unpredictable wind gusts and changing direction to maintain flight, the journey was becoming a real challenge keeping up with the weather changes.

Finally, after a week of struggling with the winds, Veronica told Conrad, “I think you should go ahead and leave me behind because I just can’t keep up with you anymore.” I am getting tired quicker and the air is so cold up here, I can hardly breathe.

Slowing down a bit and listening to Veronica labor as she was falling behind a little bit at a time, he said to her “Let’s go back and live in the park where we came from. I don’t think I want to go to Arizona any longer.”

Veronica, sensing a surrendering voice said to him “you go ahead; I will catch up with you somehow.”

Knowing that Veronica could never catch up, Conan started looking downward for a place to land and saw an open landing spot that was kind of rocky but flat enough to land and rest for a while.

The two, sitting there and resting knew it was time to decide whether to keep going or leave one behind. Conan, surely feeling that he should remain with Veronica who has been by his side as his wing protector now for over a month, was thinking of an alternative to Arizona.

Softly, he said to Veronica “I am going to fly up ahead and see what we have to eat down there so don’t go anywhere and stay right here.”

Following the river, Conrad found a small cliff overlooking the river where there was green grass and plenty of fresh water. Thinking that this would be a great place to settle down, he returned back to the flat landing spot where he had left Veronica and as he came closer, he could not see her from the air.

Frantic, his mind was racing thinking she had left him or fallen off the cliff towards the ground. Scanning his eyes quickly, he kept looking for her but could not see anything resembling a vulture or a big black bird around the cliff.

“Veronica, where are you!!” he screamed out loud. “Veronica, tell me where you are, I found a great place where we can settle down and just relax and live the rest of our lives together.”

Slowly, walking out of an adjoining cave in the rocky terrain, Veronica came out and said to Conrad “why didn’t you just keep going, why did you come back. I will be fine here and you should just go now and fly away.”

Conrad, telling Veronica of the beautiful place he had found just a few miles down the river path, said to her, “stay here with me and we can just enjoy the company of each other for the rest of our lives.”

“Tears in her eyes, Veronica sniffled and said “are you sure Conrad, are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure and when you see this place, you will know it will be our home until we die.”

“Veronica, laughing a little said “Conrad, do you have any idea how long you will live yet? You will live another fifty years before you die.

“Well then, Veronica, it looks like we have house to build and a place to call home.”

Friends for live, these two birds of prey never thought about flying away again and settled down in the cool air of the southern Colorado Rocky Mountains waiting for summer to arrive.


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