The presence of new condors is always a big attraction for the wild birds. Hoinewut is no stranger to the wild flock. He mentored the yellow tags and interacted with the blue tags visually from inside the flight pen two years ago. Y68 was very close to Hoinewut before his release back in 1999 and they were recently observed nibbling beaks through the flight pen fence on one of Y68's visits to the pen. Social bonds appear to be long lasting for condors as does their memory of past associations with individual condors.
New bonds continue to be established between the orange tags and the new group of white tags.
Hoinewut's mentoring will be felt beyond the confines of the flight pen. His visual influence and nonverbal communication are being absorbed by the wild flock every time they visit. Flights for the wild flock this month were limited to the Big Sur region. The presence of new birds at the release site and unfavorable flying conditions typical at this time of year contributed to their lack of movement. The weekly aerial tracking effort continues to provide valuable roosting and movement data on the wild flock.