Dick Smith, a California naturalist, spent decades in the wilderness of southern California researching the condor, an iconic animal of North America whose numbers drastically diminished during the 1960s and '70s. He kept this journal from 1964 to 1977, recording his observations of condor activity, habits, nesting areas, range, reasons for endangerment, etc. Eventually, all California condors were taken into protective captivity and their species was eventually reintroduced. One of the success stories of conservation.