A large soaring adult California condor / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The entire population of California condors was down to 22 in 1982, and none of them flew free in the wild. Since then, though, the California Condor Recovery Program (CCRP), overseen by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), has led the repopulation of condors through the successful collaboration among dozens of organizations, including zoos, NGOs, international partners, and local, state, and federal agencies. The condor population has gradually grown to 537, as of the last official count in December 2021. Of them, 334 are free-flying.

As the population expands, the biologists add new release sites, and slowly the giant birds have expanded from Southern California to Central California, Arizona, and Baja California. The historical condor range had stretched as far north as British Columbia, and once included the Klamath Basin and all the ancestral and modern-day lands of the Yurok. In 2003, tribal elders leading an effort to identify cultural and natural resource restoration needs determined that the condor was the most important land-based animal to return to Yurok lands.…

www.baynature.org/2022/06/09/the-reintroduction-odyssey-of-the-yurok-condors

From David Shipway, a builder on Cortez Island, BC, Canada, regarding his catboat; his home and workshop are featured in Builders of the Pacific Coast.

It’s a fiberglass hull, modeled on a William Garden design, that has made my last 10 summers the best in my life! But as I was warned, it has definitely taken my time and attention away from maintaining some buildings here during the summer when it’s dry. I have quite a bit of roofing to do — in my 70’s now, but I’ll find some young bucks to help me.

The Humpback whale in the background of that photo is feeding on small fish that live under the aquaculture floats. These are passive shellfish enterprises, that unlike the salmon farms nearby, do not cause problems, and in fact are like floating artificial reefs, which increase the structural habitat biodiversity of this archipelago significantly, for birds, salmon and whales. Note the Bald Eagle, a white speck high above in the trees.

theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/well-fixers-story-california-drought/619753

From Maui Surfer

Two videos of bees gathering pollen from opium poppy + photo of pollen “saddlebag” on bee’s leg in upper right; bees gather pollen and nectar in pellets on their legs for transport back to hives.

I had five bee colonies in ’70s, ’80s, and they are utterly fascinating; the species has been around for 25 million years.
Don’t get me started talking about the brilliance of their societies!

• From @lloyd.kahn’s Instagram