More Nests…

Through the winter months searching for wild condor nest sites yielded one new nest in February, two in March, as well as a surprise nest in April. After a hectic few months Southern California now has five active condor nest sites!

Our population’s most dominant male, condor No. 107 and his mate, Ventana’s condor 161, have committed to their fourth nesting attempt. The pair successfully fledged a chick in 2004, tragically lost a chick at the nest in 2006 and in 2007 they fledged a chick that died shortly after a devastating wildfire passed through the region. We have high hopes that this pair will fledge their chick once again this season.

The first wild egg laid in March was by condor No. 289. This nest took some effort to find in the remote canyons of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, a large tract of wilderness set aside by the U.S. Forest Service to protect condor-nesting habitat. No. 289, the youngest condor of breeding age this season, has chosen one of our populations oldest males, condor 98. She will be his fourth mate since his first nesting attempt in 2002 and we hope they will prove to be a successful pairing.

The next breeding pair of the season is a 7-year-old male, condor 237, and an 8-year-old female, No. 214. They were the foster parents of the 2006 fledgling, No. 412, the second chick to fledge from a wild nest in California. Condor 412’s success was a result of a change in nest management strategies to enhance nest success in the wild and has resulted in the development of the nest-guarding program.

The fifth nest of the season came as bit of a surprise nearly a month later. Condors 111 & 125, which successfully fledged No. 450 in 2007, were still actively caring for this young bird. Quite suddenly, they were no longer being observed with condor 450. She had only recently left her parents’ nesting territory. To our great surprise, we discovered 111 in a cavity incubating a newly laid egg. While it is uncommon for condors to nest in consecutive years it has been known to occur in the wild. We eventually located condor 450 at a supplemental feeding site 45 miles away from her natal area in Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge interacting with other juveniles within the population. This is a benchmark towards her independence as she will begin to fend for herself at roosting and feeding sites with the many juveniles condors that frequent this refuge.

It is a time reminiscent of the period of pre-in house managed care program, with a total of seven active nests in California. Of the seven nests sites, five are in Southern California and two are located along the central California coast.

Stay tuned for Part II when Joseph enters a nest with an egg.

The Zoological Society of San Diego’s head of the genetics division, Oliver Ryder, Ph.D., has been heavily involved in the California Condor Recovery Program for this very reason and has this answer:

The California condor has gone through a population bottleneck, as its population size was reduced. Captive breeding saved the California condor from extinction and has allowed the greatest extent possible of its remaining gene pool to be saved.

Nonetheless, genetic diversity has been lost over time as the population living in the wild decreased. However, by rapid growth of the current population, as has taken place during the last 15 years, the risk of genetic diminishment resulting in the inability of the species to survive, has been reduced. Efforts are now focused to ensure that the condor population can continue to grow to meet the goals for species recovery.

The age structure of the reintroduced condor populations is still heavily weighted toward younger individuals. Thus, the full reproductive potential of the wild population has not yet been reached and, additional releases will soon help bolster the population of free-flying birds. Even so, successful reproduction in the effort to reform a wild condor population has not, as yet, reached a level that would result in self-sustaining populations.

The goal of the California Condor Recovery Program is to create a self-sustaining population and so the dedicated members of the recovery efforts will continue to strive to reach this objective. Please continue to send in questions and we will get answers from the experts.

As complicated as flying the birds to the site is, the ground route proved even more troublesome. Even with the best advanced preparation for this trip we ended up delayed at the border for several hours more than expected, which convinced me that in the future we’ll be flying the birds to Mexico whenever possible. Luckily the cool temperature day made the trip tolerable for the birds and by that evening the birds were jockeying for position high up on release site aviary perches. They will remain in quarantine at the site for about a month and will be tested for specific diseases by SAGARPA (USDA counterpart) before they can be re-released.

Once we have permission from Mexico, we will be able to dramatically reduce the risk of food contamination by testing all carcasses and animal parts given to the birds with our new digital, field x-ray machine.

Many groups and individuals helped make this condor recovery effort a success, starting with Juan and Catalina in the field trapping, testing and helping to move the birds to San Diego, followed by the efforts of the veterinarians and medical staff at the Wild Animal Park’s Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center, organized and coordinated by Dr. Jeff Zuba. Managing the isolation and medical treatment of such a large group (beginning with 11 birds) was a challenge for the keeper/vet staff. Valerie Stoddard now has the International Health Certificate process engrained in her mind. Thanks also to our new condor post doctoral fellow, James Sheppard and vet keepers for doing condor watch while they were in the recuperation pens.

Thanks to Elvia de la Cruz and Eduardo Peters in INE for the fast work with the Mexico CITES and the HRZ and Dave Rimlinger and Carol Dittmer for hanging in there with the US CITES export permits. Dr. Fernando Sanchez continues to do the amazing job of coordinating passage through the frenzy of stamps and signatures from four agencies at the Mexican border, which are required to move the birds from one country to the other. Sheila and Fatima from the Wild Animal Park’s condor department helped drive birds back to the Sierra. Without these folks and more, we would not have a condor release program in Baja.

The latest eggs arrived Monday, March 10, laid by Tama and No. 147. The females and their mates, Mandan and No. 137, will sit on the eggs until keepers remove them to test for fertility.

“The eggs will be naturally incubated for 10 to 14 days,” said Shawn St. Michael, zoo assistant curator. “Then they will be pulled, candled, put into an incubator and replaced with dummy eggs.”

When the chicks start to hatch, at about 57 days, keepers switch the eggs back, so the chicks will hatch under their parents.

Condor keepers have determined that the first two eggs of the season are fertile. These eggs, laid by No. 174 and Salu, are now in an incubator. The hens are currently sitting on dummy eggs, which may be removed if keepers decide to encourage the condors to mate again (called “double clutching”).

Last year was a record-breaking one for condors in Oregon. Seven eggs were laid, including two by condor pairs who had never produced eggs before. Unfortunately, an abundance of eggs does not guarantee an abundance of chicks, and only three condor chicks hatched.

The zoo’s condor recovery efforts take place at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in Clackamas County on Metro-owned open space. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors to The Jonsson Center is currently home to 19 adult condors. The center has produced 15 eggs since it was established and 10 chicks have hatched.

In 2001, the Oregon Zoo became the third zoo in the nation to join the California Condor Recovery Program. California condor captive-breeding programs are also operated at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey. The Oregon Zoo was the recipient of The Wildlife Society’s Conservation Award for “creating the nation’s fourth California condor breeding facility” in April 2005.

For more information about the Oregon Zoo’s California condors, visit
http://www.oregonzoo.org/Condors/index.htm.

Condors, the largest land birds in North America, have wingspans of up to 10 feet and weigh 18 to 30 pounds. They are highly intelligent and inquisitive, often engaging in play. Their range extended across much of North America during the Pleistocene Era, which ended about 10,000 years ago. By 1940, that range had been reduced to the coastal mountains of Southern California, and in 1967 condors were added to the first federal list of endangered species. In 1987, the 17 condors remaining in the wild were brought into captivity and a captive-breeding program was developed.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238 RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
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It is 7:15 when the 150 lbs of gear is loaded onto ATVs and the four of us are ready to make our way to the nest cliff. It will be a short ride and then about an hour hike to reach the top of the nest cliff. At 8:30 we reached the steep slopes above the nest cliff. Each nest is like a puzzle with a variety of challenges to overcome in order to get to it. For some, the routes to the nest cliff present the biggest challenge. Many are on very steep exposed terrain. In this case, the rappel to the nest will prove to be the much more difficult than the hike. It will require close to 500 feet of rope and portions of the descent, especially the last 100 feet, will be on near vertical terrain made up of loose rocks and the occasional cliff side shrub.

It’s 9:30 and I radio the nest observer across the canyon to inform her that I am going to begin my decent. From this point on, she will be my navigator as I make my way down the cliff. She will also inform me of the attending parent’s behavior so I know what to expect when I reach the nest. I weight the rope and the anchors we’ve built out of this recently sunken rebar and the webbing that distributes the weight evenly across them barely even flexes; this is a good sign. As always, we’ve built an anchor that is redundant, capable of withstanding forces much greater than my body weight and the 40 lbs of gear that I am carrying. The consequences of a fall would be life threatening and I’ve got no plans to end up as condor food just yet.

It is our first time rappelling on this nest cliff so the decent takes longer than normal. I need to be careful about lose rock and veering off course so I descend slowly trying to make mental notes about the terrain for future entries. I am only about 10 feet above the nest with the female, condor 79, looking up at me from the nest porch. I anticipate that as I approach she will flush from the nest and leave me to candle the egg and sift the nest substrate for any trash that she or her mate may have brought to the nest. In the eight other nests I’ve entered, this is what I’ve come to expect of these giant birds. Perhaps she might re-land while I am there, keeping her distance while doing her best to let her size and presence intimidate me.

A few moments later I discover that condor 79 has a different game plan. Upon arriving at the nest, I quickly remove my pack and grab my camera to fire off a few photos of her, who has yet to evacuate the nest. She has taken a stereotypical defensive posture with her head lower, mouth gaping, and wings partially extended. I turn to prep the equipment needed to candle the egg and a few seconds later I hear the frantic voice of the nest observer over the radio. Her warning was just in time as I turn to see 79 approaching with the intent to use her powerful beak to defend her nest. Allowing the parents to remain perched at edge of the nest seems to be less stressful on the parents rather than continually flushing them away. I move into a position within arms reach of the egg and try to encourage the worried mother to fly off. She hops off to a nearby ledge.

I discover that the cavity has a small window that opens up to the ledge she is perched on. It is not big enough for her to fit through but as I go to candle the egg, I am within striking distance of her powerful beak. I remove my helmet and place it in front of the window. In order to candle the egg I must create a makeshift dark room in the nest. I do this by draping a tarp over my head and use a high powered flash light to illuminate the egg so I might see its contents. With my head under the tarp the sound of 79 pecking at my helmet is reassuring. As long as I hear her there I know she is not sneaking to the front of the nest where my legs are exposed to her bite. I am now focused at the task at hand. I am careful not to make any sudden movements while handling the precious egg. I keep it in the position that I find it in, only raising it a few inches and holding it to the light. I can only make out the air cell and a dark shadow with faint lines extending into the unlit portions of the egg, but the shadow’s movement is a sure sign of a of a fertile egg!

My attention is completely focused on positioning the egg exactly as I found it and I am unaware that the periodic taps on my helmet have stopped. Condor 79 has returned to the nest entrance. I feel a tug at my paint leg as she lets me know that I am unwelcome at the nest. I quickly sift through the cavity substrate searching for any trash items that the chick could later ingest. Luckily, I’ve remembered to tether my backpack to the rope as well because the condor has pulled it over the edge of the nest in hopes to send it the remaining hundred feet to the canyon floor!

I am happy to discover the nest is clean, 79 turns her focus to the egg as I move to the other side of the cavity. She slowly steps into the cavity and stands over the egg looking down at it. With my gear stowed away I am ready to make my exit. I begin the ascent back up to the rest of the team who have been patiently waiting in case I was in need of any support. Condor 79 is now fully focused on her egg using her beak to manipulate the egg and I can see first hand just how gentle a condor can be with its beak. I make the climb back up to the top set of anchors with a feeling of satisfaction. A fertile egg and a mother who is more than willing to defend her nest from any intruders means there is little chance we will need to do more for this pair during the egg stage. In years to come, this pair’s ability to produce fertile eggs will only improve so this first egg is a strong indication of future egg success. This is an excellent start to what we hope to be another fruitful breeding season.

State Assemblyman Pedro Nava was there, issuing a challenge to the Governor to come to Santa Barbara to sign his bill (AB821) banning the use of lead ammunition in the range of the California condor. (It was enacted the next day in Sacramento). The Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act is named for longtime Zoo supporters, the late Paul Ridley-Tree and his wife, Leslie. Paul was a very kind and generous man; a true gentleman. The plaza of our condor exhibit is also named for him.

At that October event, I also met some of our program partners for the first time: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Marc Weitzel, Christopher J. Barr and Richard Posey. We were in high spirits – the exhibit was finally underway! Well… it took four more months, but demolition has started and we are now truly “under construction.” The California Trails complex will feature several endangered species native to the state, specifically the Central Coast – not just condors. We’re also renovating exhibits of Channel Island fox, bald eagle, desert tortoise, and creating a new space for reptiles and amphibians from the Los Padres National Forest. We are removing the playground for the tortoises, as the condors need “quieter neighbors” (a new play area near the Zoo Train opens next month).

Up to six birds will be on view in their hilltop aviary overlooking part of their historic range, the Santa Ynez Mountains. The California Condor Recovery Team will determine which individual birds will come to Santa Barbara, based on the needs of the program. As the population grows, there is a need for long-term housing of birds which, for any number of reasons, cannot be released into the wild. There are no plans for condor breeding at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The exhibit is a little over 6,000 square feet and has 174,000 cubic feet. It is in an area that was not really used to house animals — it has redwood trees and a stream which fills two different pools.

Alan Varsik, our director of animals programs and conservation, tells me that studies in the field show that the birds make use of water. Hopefully, they will here. The exhibit is situated on a steep hillside, enclosed with woven stainless steel mesh. From the top, the public can get close to the birds, should they be perched on that rockwork, and can see inside a rockwork “cave.” Below, a boardwalk offers terrific views of the birds above, of the nearby Andree Clark Bird Refuge and of the distinct mountains. Talk about prime Santa Barbara real estate! They’ll have the best views in town and some room to glide.

We’re all thrilled that condors are coming to our Zoo. They will really help us tell the story of the species in “our own backyards” and, hopefully, inspire our guests to help with the recovery of not only condors, but these other local species. We’ll keep you up to date as construction progresses. It will be about a year, start to finish, before California Trails opens.

The breeding season here at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park usually begins in mid-January, but because of the recent wild fires and evacuation we were not sure how our breeding pairs would be affected. We were glad to finally see our first courtship display on Nov. 10, 2007. First thing in the morning on Feb. 5, we were thrilled to find Molloko eating bones and gulping water, the initial telltale signs that an egg is on the way.

Our second egg, produced by Nojoqui (condor 44) and Almiyi (condor 32), did not make us wait at all. Almiyi, the most prolific female of the California Condor Recovery Program, laid her 41st egg just over 25 hours after Molloko laid her 27th. The youngest female here at the Wild Animal Park laid our surprise third egg. This is only the second season that Simerrye (condor No. 221) and Ojja (No. 264) have been together as a pair. Last year Ojja laid her very first egg, and this year, on Tuesday, Feb, 12, she laid her second. Since we had observed her very eagerly eating on Sunday and playing with Simerrye in their pen on Monday, we were shocked when we found that she had laid an egg on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately this egg was not fertile, but we have great hope for this pair in the years to come.

Our largest male, Sisquoc (condor No. 28), and one of our smallest females, Shatash (No. 54), produced our fourth egg on Valentine’s Day. Sisquoc is quite an amazing bird and a very special condor for the Program. He was the very first California condor to hatch in captivity, and he makes sure we do not forget that. Their egg, we are happy to say is fertile.Valentine’s Day was quite an eventful day for us because our Baja mentor also laid that day. Itaxmay (No. 141) and the Baja cohort had to be relocated to the main condor facility because the wild fires that burned through the Wild Animal Park compromised their pen. Itaxmay’s hormones were probably set off by the presence of five adult males in her immediate vicinity. This is the first egg this 12-year-old female has ever laid.

Altogether we have seven breeding pairs here at the Wild Animal Park, and we are still very patiently and eagerly waiting for eggs from the other three pairs. We will just have to wait and see what the delay to the season does to our double clutching efforts this year. Our greatest hope is that it will not have a negative effect on our contribution to the population this year.

The young birds were bred and hatched in captivity at the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. The Peregrine Fund is a conservation organization that recovers endangered birds of prey around the world.

“It’s always a thrill to add more individuals to this growing flock, but these birds will face many challenges growing up, especially the danger of lead poisoning, their leading cause of death,” said Chris Parish, the Peregrine Fund biologist leading the recovery effort.

Condors are scavengers that sometimes feed on hunter-killed game animals, which frequently contain tiny fragments of lead that the birds ingest. The Peregrine Fund and Arizona Game and Fish Department have worked together the last three years to educate hunters about this potential danger and urge them to switch to non-lead bullets while hunting in condor territory.

In the fall 2007 hunting season, 80 percent of hunters helped reduce lead exposure in condors by using copper bullets or not leaving gut piles in the field, according to Arizona Game and Fish. That’s up from a 60 percent compliance rate in 2006. No condors died of lead poisoning last year, compared with four deaths in the 2006 season.

“We applaud hunters’ efforts in helping us recover the condor,” Parish said.

The doors to the pen where the young condors will be released to the wild will be opened at 11 a.m.

Driving directions: Take Highway 89A from Kanab or Page to the Vermilion Cliffs (from Flagstaff take Highway 89 to Highway 89A). Turn north onto BLM Road 1065 (a dirt road next to the small house just east of the Kaibab Plateau) and continue about 2 miles. There is a shade structure on the right side of the road.

Driving times: From Flagstaff, 2.75 hours; Fredonia, 1 hour; Page, 1.75 hours; Phoenix, 5 hours.

Bring: binoculars, sunscreen, water, snack.

BACKGROUND

• The Peregrine Fund will sponsor a conference in Boise, May 12-15, for biologists, health providers and representatives of the sporting industry to discuss the implications of ingesting lead ammunition on wildlife and humans.

Information: http://www.peregrinefund.org/Lead_conference/default.htm

• This is the 12th year that condor chicks have been released in Arizona.

• The Arizona flock currently numbers 65, including six condors that have been born in the wild since releases began in 1996. The Arizona birds have established territories primarily in the Grand Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs of northern Arizona and portions of southern Utah.

• The total number of endangered California Condors is 298, with 144 birds flying free in California, Arizona and Mexico. The birds were nearly extinct in the 1980s when 22 birds existed in the world.

• The condor is the largest flying land bird in North America. The birds can weigh up to 26 pounds and have a wingspan up to 9 ½ feet.

• Spring and summer are the best times to see condors flying free at the Grand Canyon.

• The condor reintroduction in Arizona is a joint project of many partners, including Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Peregrine Fund, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Kaibab National Forest and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

• For more information about California Condors, visit The Peregrine Fund Website at www.peregrinefund.org or the Arizona Game and Fish Department website at www.azgfd.gov/condor.

The Peregrine FundWorld Center for Birds of Prey

5668 W. Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

Feb. 19, 2008

www.peregrinefund.org

CONTACT

Susan Whaley, public relations coordinator

(208) 362-8274 direct, (208) 860-2641 cell

Bill Heinrich, species restoration manager

(208) 362-8276 direct, (208) 890-0163 cell

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