The California Condor that blew into Los Alamos in April 2015. Photo by Joe Fitzgibbon
PEEC News:
The largest bird in North America, which only existed in captivity in the 1980’s, is taking to the skies in growing numbers, and their story will be shared at the Los Alamos Nature Center 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept.19.
Four condor experts, Bette Korber, Melissa Moore, Shorty Esch and Jeanne Fair, will talk about the California Condor’s story and bird science conducted at LANL. This free presentation is open to the public.
Poaching and poisoning pushed California Condor populations down to only a few dozen, all of which were in captivity by 1987. Fortunately, a lot of people cared about condors and started breeding programs, bird studies, and educational efforts to tell people about these magnificent birds and the dangers of lead bullets. Their efforts are paying off.
At the presentation, Bette Korber, Melissa Moore, Shorty Esch, and Jeanne Fair will tell stories of the condors’ remarkable recovery, share what hunters can do to protect them, and be available to answer your condor questions.
Korber is is a LANL scientist who has lived and worked in New Mexico since 1990. This presentation has nothing to do with her laboratory science; instead, this talk will be fueled simply by a love of condors, which she hopes will be contagious. She spends far too much time watching condor videos on YouTube, and will share a few highlights.
Moore has been the executive director of New Mexico Wildlife Center since January of this year. She has worked in the field of wildlife rehabilitation and education for more than 30 years, having started as an intern at the World Bird Sanctuary in her hometown of St. Louis.
She was the curator of birds at the Black Hills Reptile Gardens and then the founding executive director of Wildlife Experiences, both in Rapid City, S.D. Moore has served on the boards of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Association and the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators, and was a licensed master falconer for 20 years.
Speaker Shorty Esch teaches hunting safety in the Jemez.
Fair is a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory with a focus in epidemiology and animal disease ecology. Fair is the principle investigator for a long-term (21 years) research project on the impacts of contaminants on avian populations, and editor-in-chief of the Guidelines for the Use of Wild Birds in Research.
This free talk will take place at the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road. No registration is required.
For more information about this and other Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) programs, visit www.peecnature.org, email programs@peecnature.org or call 505.662.0460.
