Lon held up the small tracking antenna while tuning in the condor’s frequency on the radio fastened to his belt. He pointed the antenna north, toward the Maze, then rotated it gradually to the east. Four rapid beeps started to come in, then grew stronger and stronger as the antenna pointed straight down the road. “That’s good,” Lon said. “He’s landed. If we’re lucky, he won’t have landed somewhere real tricky.” They drove another half mile, took another reading. Lon scanned ahead with his powerful binoculars but couldn’t see Maverick. “How much do we have on the odometer?” “Four and a half miles.” “The dope.” “You have to hand it to him, though. From what you’re saying, that’s a pretty amazing flight for his age.” “An epic flight. But there’s a reason we pick a line of cliffs for our reintroduction sites. There are thermal upcurrents along the cliffs that provide tremendous lift. Fledglings can fly back and forth along the rim for weeks as they improve their flying skills.
