http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4594318Sight of the condor: Calif. boy captures history in a photo
The quick-fingered 5 1/2K-year-old budding shutterbug documented what experts say may be the first such bird to fly a particular L.A. canyon in more than 100 years.
By Bob Pool
Los Angeles Times
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 08:49:02 PM MST
Gabriel Gottfried, 5K, proudly displays a copy of the photo he took of a California condor darting from a tree branch outside his Los Angeles-area home. "I tried to take it on the tree, but it moved. I followed it by accident and got it in midair." (LAT, AP / Annie Wells)
Los Angeles - Like any good bird lover, Gabriel Gottfried knew what to do when he spied the huge creature perched on a tree branch outside his Topanga Canyon home.
He grabbed his camera to document what experts say may be the first California condor to fly the canyon's skies in more than 100 years.
His action photo of the elusive bird taking wing was remarkable enough. But perhaps not as remarkable as the fact that Gabriel is 5 years old."I'm 5 1/2!" corrects the pint- sized photographer whose sharp eye and quick shutter finger are being saluted by conservationists throughout the rustic residential canyon.
Wildlife experts who are hailing Gabriel's photo say it's conceivable that a condor was taking temporary refuge from a huge wildfire that ravaged parts of the Los Padres National Forest in September and October.
more...