Condor Watch Talk

Why is there a scale

  • Zappyhallo by Zappyhallo

    What is that scale for?

    Posted

  • wreness by wreness moderator

    Hi ZappyHallo!

    The scale is so the scientists can see how much the bird weighs so they can get an idea on the health of the bird. They love sitting on the scales - everyone loves those scales from ravens to owls to turkey vultures since it's the highest point around. They get to play "King of the Mountain", so to speak. (We don't have to mark the weight of anything but condors, but we like to have fun here and also like to make fun of ravens and turkey vultures since they wish they were condors, it seems.)

    If you ever see a photo clearly showing the tag of the condor - the color and number of the tag - and you can see the weight, too, then when you're done marking all the things in the photo, click the "do you want to discuss this photo" just like you did here so that you can post it on TALK. We use very few hashtags on this site but for this one we'd use #scale then enter the tag color, number and weight of the bird. Example: #scale Black47 Underline 20 pounds

    Here's a picture with a condor on one, and how to type it

    Check to be sure someone didn't already do this. Many have been done and there's no need to duplicate the info but if it's not there, it's appreciated!

    If there's a bird on a scale but you can't see the tag, or not enough info to complete this then just ignore the scale and mark the bird's distance from the carcass as if the scale doesn't exist. Invisible scale. 😃 They don't always cooperate and stand perfectly nice and sometimes the sun glares off the scale dial and it's impossible to see.

    Here's another post with more info and a picture of the scale dial to get an idea of where the markings are. They're in U.S. pounds.

    Everything helpful about Condor Watch FAcQ page

    Thanks for your question! Have fun and carrion!

    Posted