CONDOR CHICK TAKES FLIGHT NEAR
LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST

    The second California condor chick to fledge in the wild in California in more than 14 years has left its nest at the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge near the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County. The six-month old chick, dubbed "Number 412," left its nest for the first time October 22, flying approximately 15 feet across a canyon and landing on a cliff face.

    The bird continues to make short flights near the nest site. At least one parent is nearby keeping a watchful eye on the bird as it explores the surroundings. The parents will continue to care for the juvenile condor until it's approximately 18 months old.


    The chick was hatched May 2 near the refuge, home to the California Condor Recovery Program. It's the first chick to fledge in the wild in California since 2004, and the second since the federally-protected condors were reintroduced in 1992. This brings the total number of California condor chicks to fledge in the wild to seven. Five condor chicks have fledged in Arizona.

    "This is a significant event; each time a condor chick fledges in the wild it brings us that much closer to the goal of the recovery of this great bird," said Steve Thompson, an official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


    The year began with four breeding pairs of condors. Two nests failed at the egg stage, and the third nest failed after the chick fell from the nest site. Number 412, the most recent chick, was born to a new breeding pair of condors this year, a six-year-old female and a five-year-old male. At one point, the chick had to be removed from the nest, taken in for surgery, and returned to the nest the following day.

    The largest bird in North America, condors are scavengers that have soared over mountainous areas of California since prehistoric times, but their numbers plummeted in the 20th Century. Condor numbers declined in part due to loss of habitat and food and from shooting, lead poisoning, oil development, power line collisions, and toxic substances.

    Condors were listed as an endangered species in 1967, under a law that pre-dated the existing Endangered Species Act. In 1982, the condor population reached its lowest level of 22 birds, prompting biologists to start collecting chicks and eggs for a captive breeding program. By late 1984, only 15 condors remained in the wild. After seven condors died in rapid succession, it was decided to bring the remaining birds in from the wild for the captive breeding program. In 1992, the Recovery Program began releasing California condors back into the wild.

Photos courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Mike Wallace, Zoological Society of San Diego