A new documentary captures the complexities of condors.

David Schmalz here. I’ve only seen a California condor sun its wings one time, and though I can’t place the year or month—about seven years ago, I’d guess—I remember precisely which spire it was standing on in Pinnacles National Park. 

The sight of a condor spreading its wings atop an object one can scale—a spire, or a tree branch—is when their magnificent size is most evident. They are truly majestic creatures, and are one reason I love hiking at Pinnacles so much, because there’s no better place for the public to have a good chance at seeing them. 

But even though I’ve reported and written about condors before, I didn’t realize how little I knew about their complexity—both culturally and adaptively—until I watched a short documentary yesterday that was posted online for streaming just a few days ago. It’s called California Condor — A Day In The Life, and for locals who pay attention to condors, you may recognize the name of the filmmaker: Tim Huntington.

Huntington works for nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society as both a contract software engineer and as a volunteer on weekends radio-tracking condors in southern Big Sur (if the highway is open). In doing so, he always brings a camera, and takes truly stunning photos of the birds.

I spoke to Huntington yesterday after watching the 25-minute film, and asked him how he pulled it off—I’ve hiked in Big Sur plenty, but I’ve only seen a condor there once. For one, he says, while he’s radio tracking he has the advantage of knowing where the condors are. And when he’s doing that, he always brings a camera. 

Before making the film, Huntington says, he upgraded to a camera that can take both stills and professional-quality video, and he toggles between the two when he’s out in the field depending on which he thinks is best for the moment. “And over time,” he says, “I decided to see what sort of story I can tell with that video.”

He then recruited VWS biologists Darren Gross, Kara Fadden and Danaé Mouton, who helped him answer that question. All three are featured in the film, and also narrate the footage and explain to viewers what a day—or a year—is like in the life of a California condor. 

The result is a film that is a joy to watch, and is filled with both visual spectacle and fun facts about condors. I highly recommend you check it out—the ongoing recovery of condors is a remarkable success story, and many of the heroes in that story live among us in Monterey County.

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