We arrived in Monterey on Tuesday, and after lunch we headed south on the picturesque Cabrillo Highway to Big Sur. I saw billows of white clouds cascading over the ocean like waves, while sea birds dove into the blue ocean water. The breeze was cool and refreshing. We were excited. It would be the first time I would see California condors free-flying in, get this–California! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this majestic bird flying in Baja California, Mexico, on a number of occasions, but not in my own backyard! Shea, the videographer, had never seen condors free-flying; today I expected would be her first.

As we went further down the coastline, I spotted only brown pelicans, sea gulls, cormorants and a variety of other birds, but no condors yet. There are only about 40 condors in this vast wilderness, and there are many beautiful spots for the birds to perch—from redwoods to pines, mountains to cliffs overlooking the beaches. It was something I was happy to be doing myself, except I was taking it all in from the comfort of a moving 4×4. Knowing that there are plenty of choices for the birds, I didn’t expect to find them right away, but in our arsenal we had the locations of a few favorite spots for the condors.

As we continued our drive, we spotted a large black bird in the distance. Could it be? Get the binoculars! Darn. It was the one bird most often confused with a California condor, the turkey vulture. As we meandered past the scenic highway, the fire’s damage became apparent. Hillsides were charred and trees were dry and black. A group of large birds was perched on a pine tree. Condors are gregarious and are usually found in groups, so this is a good sign. Sigh. Again, we found them to be turkey vultures—or TVs as I affectionately began to call them. Time and time again we spotted TVs.

From a distance, when you see a TV in flight you have to look again before you recognize its familiar shape. The TV has a slight bend in its wings, while the condors wings are much straighter. If you’re close enough to see the white underneath the wing it’s a dead giveaway. The TV has white wing tips, it looks like it’s wearing gloves. The condor has a white triangle and its feather tips are black.

The disappointment was evident. Now when we saw a black bird we were certain it was a TV, and perhaps it became a self-fulfilling prophecy because each black vulture we saw had a small wingspan of six feet—turkey vulture—and not the nine-foot wingspan of the condor. We found ourselves leaving empty handed that day. We had beautiful images of a waterfall that drained onto a beach with waters as blue as the Caribbean. It was a perfect sunning spot, but even after visiting the condor’s “favorite” hangout spots, we saw none. We stopped in several spots. We did what you’re supposed to do, hang out patiently and look carefully in the trees. But alas, Shea would go another day without seeing a free-flying California condor. Sorry, Shea. Michael sighed and said he has never gone out in search of condors and returned home without seeing them. We are not going home yet, so we still have tomorrow, Michael. We still have tomorrow.

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It is also extraordinary that the wild chicks and their parents have done so well. For more details, click here want to thank all of you who have made a donation to the Condor Emergency Fund already. Together, we will rebuild the Condor Sanctuary so that we can restore the California Condor to the wild and enable this wonderful species to be removed from the endangered species list.

Please help us tell the story by sharing this email with others or post to web and blog sites and encourage them to sign up for our email alerts and if they want to help they can make a donation also. Signing up for the email alert is free as you know and can be done by clicking here. It is a great way to get involved and hear directly from our biologists who are in turn directly working in the field. In the months ahead we will continue to tell the story as we rebuild the Condor Sanctuary.

Sincerely,

Kelly Sorenson
Executive Director

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Ventana Wildlife Society is the only not-for-profit organization releasing and managing condors in the wild in California. Your help is urgently needed at this time to help us overcome the setback of the fire and continue the momentum of restoring condors to their natural habitat.

As of today, our biologists have been able to track the radio signals from all but one of the 43 free-flying adult condors that VWS has surviving in the central California region. As for the newly hatched chicks, one of three wild nests was in a burned area, although we don’t yet know the fate of the chick inside. Two other nests were very near the fire but the chicks inside survived. On July 8, we were finally able to review the damages and determine that we lost all of the field pens in Big Sur for releasing the young condors along with important equipment.

Please consider making a generous gift to the Condor Emergency Fund at VWS. With your partnership, we can replace our lost equipment and supplies and support our biologists and loyal volunteers at this challenging time. In the months ahead, we will rebuild the condor release program as well as protect and maintain the health and safety of the wild flock in Big Sur. You can help us now by going to www.ventanaws.org or calling toll-free 877-897-7740 and pledging your support.

As a member, you will receive continued updates on the progress the California condors as well as our other projects to protect and restore wildlife and their habitats. It is thanks to the past generosity of our supporters and to partnerships with other dedicated organizations that visitors from all over the world now see wild condors soaring above the mountains of Big Sur. Our vision is to see this flock grow and prosper so it becomes permanent and self-sustaining – and no longer endangered.

Kelly Sorenson, Executive Director

Ventana Wildlife Society

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Consequently, the wind conditions within a condor’s habitat are likely one of the principle determinants of condor foraging ability, which is why condor introduction programs have been sited in mountainous regions with strong updrafts. Enhanced understanding of the meteorological conditions that determine the flying ability and foraging success of condors is vital to tailoring reintroduction programs to the bird’s habitat needs. No formal analysis of the characteristics of the winds that shape condor movements has yet been conducted.

We recently installed the first of an array of remote weatherstations that will be placed throughout the expanding ranges of the condors that are being reintroduced to Baja California, Mexico. The units include an anemometer to measure wind speed and direction and a thermometer to measure air temperature. The weather data is stored in a data recorder and can be downloaded at the end of the recording period (limited to about six months of memory capacity) using a handheld shuttle. Rather than choosing arbitrary locations, the sites where the weatherstation are to be installed were selected by overlaying the home ranges of 14 birds that were GPS-tracked for three years. This way the climate data we record will be taken from habitats that have actually been used intensively by the birds themselves. The big challenge to our team is that the weatherstation sites are in very remote and inaccessible areas, which presents considerable logistic difficulties for equipment installation and data acquisition.

The site for the installation of our first weatherstation was only half a mile from the Baja base camp, which certainly made it easy for us to carry the units and all of the equipment needed to set them up. Once at the site we selected a suitable tree on which to mount the weather sensors. The stations must be installed well off the ground to sample the strongest wind flows while minimizing ground-based turbulence and interference. We also need the units to be high enough to deter interference by curious animals (and curious people!). We needed climbing ropes and harnesses to bolt the unit 33 feet (10 meters) off the ground onto the main trunk of the tree. This was not an easy task, and was complicated by the fact that each unit must also be precisely calibrated to compass directions, often while the units were recording wind velocities of more than 33 feet (10 meters) per second.

The second weatherstation was placed at Venado Blanco, at the crest of a steep ridge overlooking a series of valleys back toward the condor campsite, which was about three miles to the southwest. The reintroduced condors have been tracked coming to this site many times over the past three years, and during our journey to the site we encountered a herd of deer and noticed the hoof prints of cattle and scats from various animals – the kinds of things that attract inquisitive and hungry condors. Getting to the Venado Blanco site required some serious off-roading and a hike with the weatherstations and their installation equipment across steep chaparral covered slopes.

The site itself was a picturesque study in contrasts, with colorful desert flowers in bloom beneath blackened pine trees that had been scarred by numerous lightening strikes and wildfires. The frequent storm activity in the area is of particular concern, since a high voltage blast of static electricity could have some serious negative consequences for one of our little weatherstations! To reduce the possibility of lightening strike we grounded our units to a long copper rod that we hammered into the ground. Needless to say, trying to find sufficient earth in which to hammer a six-foot rod into in a rocky granite peak also presented a physical challenge.

The remaining weatherstations are soon to be installed across the remote eastern canyons of the Baja reintroduction site that face the open deserts towards the Gulf of California. This network of canyons includes Picacho Del Diablo, which is the steepest peak in Baja. The sheer difficulty of reaching these sites necessitates the incorporation of a remote data uplink system into the weatherstations, to beam the climate data directly to us via a satellite modem. Once installed, we will be able to access the weather information provided by the units via the Internet. By matching the wind conditions and air temperatures with the movement patterns of the ranging condors we will be able to build an extensive and accurate picture of the environmental factors that shape condor habitat use and foraging success. This is another example of how cutting-edge technology can contribute highly valuable information to enhance management programs designed to conserve threatened species.

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Nest guarding means that we have chosen to take an active and direct role in increasing chances of successfully fledging chicks from wild nests. This effort increases the number of wild fledged condors in the population and increases chances of future nests’ success by the breeding pairs. These wild fledge chicks tend to integrate into the wild population quicker than their counterparts raised at the breeding centers, due to being led by their parents from their natal areas and guided out to forage sites. Entering nest sites to prevent failures also allows us to collect important information about why and how nest failure has taken place in the past. This information will be crucial to discovering long-term solutions to the breakdown in nesting attempts and further aid in recovery of the species in the wild.

The first two interventions needed have been in the form of egg transplants. An egg transplant is the process by which an unhealthy or infertile egg is removed from the nest and replaced with a model or dummy egg. This dummy egg keeps the pair attentive to the nest until a healthy egg from one of the breeding centers begins to hatch. This hatching egg is quickly swapped out with the model egg. The pair then becomes the foster parents of a new chick, which usually finishes hatching in a day or two. Allowing the pairs to continue in their nesting attempt increases chances of success in future years because they can continue to gain experience in chick rearing behaviors and strengthen the bond they share as parents.

The first egg transplant occurred at the nest of condors 79 and 247. Having performed a fertility check on this first-time pair we were hopeful that this pair’s egg would hatch on its own, but this was not the case. After observers failed to see it hatch beyond its due date, a nest entry team was sent in to take a closer look. This team consisted of Mike Clark, a Los Angeles Zoo condor handler and I.

During the hatching process, the chick can sometimes become incapable of freeing itself from the confines of its shell and the condor parents assist in this process. If this was the case on this entry we could also assist in the process, unfortunately when we arrived at the nest we found that the egg’s development was interrupted before it came close to hatching. This can occur for a number of reasons and our best chance of determining why would be to collect the egg and take a closer look by sending the egg to the San Diego Zoo’s Pathology Lab.

We left a dummy egg for condor No. 79, who took to it like it was her own (see video below). I returned the following day with an egg from the Los Angeles Zoo that was beginning to hatch. On March 28, a day and a half after completing the transplant the first wild chick of the season was hatched and the parents are dutifully caring for the young condor.

Condors 107 and 161 chose a difficult nest to observe this season. The cavity is very dark and when the birds enter it they disappear from view. The egg is never visible so an entry was necessary in order to determine hatch. After a few days past the hatch date we entered the nest to check. While we anticipated finding a chick, unfortunately the egg had also failed to hatch. We contacted our partners at the breeding facilities to locate the next available egg that would be ready to hatch to place into this nest site. It took transporting an egg all the way from the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise Idaho.

This egg was due to hatch 20 days beyond the pair’s original egg’s hatch date. Incubating condors will usually tend their nest beyond the normal period of 57 days that it takes a condor egg to hatch but their behavior can become less and less predictable as time passes. There was a risk the pair would lose interest and abandon the dummy egg so nest observers closely tracked the behavior of the pair to determine whether they were showing any signs of abandonment.

The route to this nest site is one of the most challenging to access especially when having to take extra care in transporting a hatching egg. Condor country is some of the most difficult terrain to travel through on foot. The steep canyons scattered with poison oak often require ropes to bypass, and the thick vegetation can force you to a crawl for hundreds of meters through thick chaparral and shrub lands. Dropping many hundreds of feet in elevation down one side of a canyon and climbing up the other side to position ourselves above the nest was a difficult endeavor. Luckily, the nest was a short 20 foot rappel down a 200 foot cliff.

The nest cavity is one of the largest I’ve ever seen. It is close to 20 feet at it deepest and 15 feet at it’s widest. There are spots that I was able to stand up completely straight inside the nest cave. It is no wonder we could not see the egg as it was far back inside the cavity. The female perches in a nearby tree closely watching me as I disappear into her cavity. As I swap eggs the chick noisily makes its presence known:

Condor 161, hearing the chick inside the egg, enters the nest and is interested in the noisy egg. She watches me closely as I ascend back to the top of the nest cliff. Once there, I take cover out of sight until the nest observer radios to tell me she has disappeared into the cavity. She does so after about 20 minutes of standing at the cavity entrance probably trying to determine if I plan on returning. While I am waiting I can still hear the hatching chick from time to time calling for her attention. When it is clear that I am no longer a threat she disappears into the darkness of the cavity and tends to her nest for the next three hours straight.

It will take the chick about two more days to completely hatch from the egg. Condor 161 tends to the nest for the rest of the day and through the night. The following day, her mate, condor 107, returns from a foraging trip and exchanges with condor 161. We will probably not see the chick until its 30-day checkup but the pair’s feeding behavior and continual attendance is a sure sign of a successful hatch and our second wild chick of the season.

Program Wide Support…

The Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund helped save these wild nests from failure by supplying hatching eggs to put into wild nest sites, but any of the breeding programs (San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and/or Oregon Zoo) would have given their support. Normally these eggs would have hatched at these centers and gone on to become condors that we could one day release. Instead these chicks will fledge as if they were wild chicks with parents that will care for them and teach them the skills needed for survival in the wild. The incredible teamwork by recovery program staff and the contributions of countless volunteers’ hours has brought us two chicks closer to another successful breeding season and another step towards recovery of this magnificent species.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Condor 79 was released in 1992 as part of the “red cohort” (condors with red I.D. tags on their wings), and was caught again several months later because of behavioral problems which included landing on power poles. Three out of the six “red cohort” condors died shortly after release, mainly due to collisions with power lines. After more behavioral problems, the remaining three birds were eventually returned to conservation programs. No. 79 would spend the next 12 years in the Los Angeles Zoo, where she would produce three offspring. She was finally released at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge in November 2006.

In late fall of 2007, No. 247 began to show interest in Condor 79. No. 247 is a young male condor and a rising contender for dominance in the Southern California condor population. He was born at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and released into the wild in August 2002. Other than being treated at Los Angeles Zoo in June 2003 for a leg injury, he has mostly remained a wild bird since his release. Condor 247 has come of age quickly and shown himself as a much more dominant bird in the last several years. This dominance has proved itself to be worthwhile with his courtship and pairing of the much older female condor 79.

Female condors are generally more interested in, and therefore more likely to mate with a more dominant male, which usually tends to be an older male. No. 79 is 15 years old and being the oldest female condor in the wild should have a wide range of males to choose from. Condor males usually don’t breed until their sixth year. Condor 247 is about six and a half years old, making this an unusual pairing between an older female and a young male.

Their first breeding attempt was successful by producing the first egg of this season in late January. Both birds have been sharing the duty of incubating the egg since being laid. Nest monitors from the Santa Barbara Zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been intensely watching the nest since it was found with the hope of preventing any problems before they become serious. This strategy was successful in the 2007 nesting season, with the 100 percent fledging of four wild condors.

Both the Santa Barbara Zoo team and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hope that this first nest of the season is a sign of good things to come for the rest of the breeding pairs of condors in California.

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