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On March 9, the crew struck out for the site. Under the roar of the helicopter’s blades, Burnett, Brandt and Scherbinsky hopped out of the hovering aircraft onto the top of the cliff face. As Cheatham and his helicopter folded into the massive blue sky, Burnett realized that he had underestimated the size of the rock formation from the ground.

“The condors couldn’t have picked a more inhospitable spot,” he said later. “It definitely was not meant for people to scramble around on.”

Wanting to spend as little time as possible disturbing the condors, the trio of biologists moved quickly. Though Burnett was hopeful that they would find a condor egg and a nest, he had been disappointed before. Last year, VWS found a nest in a redwood cavity near the Big Sur coast. The biologists discovered only a fragment of an egg.

With Burnett and Scherbinsky acting as support, Brandt threw himself off of the precipice, connected to the top of the rock by his rappelling gear. The first section of the descent was particularly disconcerting: Since the cliff edge sticks out over the first steep section, Brandt hung in midair until he finally made contact with the rock-face 75 feet down the cliff.

Strapped to Brandt’s back was a padded haul bag containing a portable incubator. The biologist also carried the replica egg, which would stay in the nest until VWS could find a healthy live egg—from the captive breeding program at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Oregon Zoo or the World Center for Birds of Prey, in Boise, Idaho—to swap out.

As Brandt lowered himself onto the small ledge near the crack in the rock, the mother condor came off of the egg and exited the cave. She stood nearby on the narrow overhang and emitted a guttural grunt.

After catching his breath, Brandt carefully squeezed himself through the cramped entrance. Inside, the small cave was about four feet high and six feet deep. To its left was the white orb resting right on the rock floor. (Condors don’t build nests made of twigs and grass.)

Brandt carefully took the egg and placed it in the incubator. Then, he placed the epoxy egg in its place.

Before the biologist started his ascent, he connected the pack containing the live egg to the ropes, which Burnett and Scherbinsky slowly pulled up. Brandt then climbed up the cliff as the mother returned to the nesting area.