Condor Tales: What I Learned in Twelve Years with the Big Birds - Meeting Thursday April 17, 2008
Sanford R. "Sandy" Wilbur was leader of the California Condor research and recovery effort from 1969 to 1981, the period during which the current captive breeding and release program was developed. Using color slides and readings from his recent book, "Condor Tales: What I Learned in Twelve Years with the Big Birds," he describes how the condors became endangered (reaching a low point of only about fifteen birds in the early 1980s) and how the condors came to be taken from the wild for a captive breeding program. The possibility of reestabishing condors in the Pacific Northwest is also discussed. The "Tales" are a blend of biology, sociology and politics, and the presentation sheds light on what it really takes to save an endangered species.
[A quote about the presentation: "Thanks so much for the fascinating insights of your contributions to the condor saga... Good reading, and an important point of view... I’ve reread it all and congratulate you on a very good tale. Your frank assessments were refreshing and produced several good laughs.” - Roland C. Clement, Vice-president, National Audubon Society (retired)]
Sandy was born in Oakland, California, in 1940 and graduated from Humboldt State College in Wildlife Management. After a short period with the California Department of Fish and Game, he spent the next 34 years with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about half that time managing national wildlife refuges in the West and Southeast, and the other half with the Endangered Species Program. In addition to the California Condor, his endangered species work has included rails, terns, vireos, spotted owls, and Hawaiian birds. He has written many scientific papers and magazine articles and several books, including "Condor Tales," "Birds of Baja California, Mexico," and "Vulture Biology and Management." Currently, he and his wife Sally live in Oregon in the winter, and New Hampshire in the summer.