The California condor has slowly been making its return to Northern California skies after being reintroduced almost four years ago.
The big, black scavengers, known for their nearly 10-foot wingspan, were driven to near-extinction as the United States was settled. But for the past several decades, captive rearing and breeding programs have brought the species back from the brink.
And now, wildlife researchers and members of the Yurok Tribe are celebrating what could be a major moment in the bird’s return to the wild.
Last week tribal officials announced two free-flying condors may have built the first nest in their ancestral territory in more than 100 years.
The couple are also believed to be incubating their first egg.
A nest in the redwoods
Tiana Williams-Claussen is the director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. She said news of the potential egg carries great meaning for the Tribe, which sees the condor, or “Prey-go-neesh” as a sacred cultural and spiritual symbol.
“For myself I’m just giddy,” she said. “They’re the oldest of our birds, none of the rest have quite reached that age. The fact that they’ve reached this milestone is incredibly exciting.”
The female condor is A0, named Ney-gem' ‘Ne-chween-kah or “She carries our prayers,” while the male is A1 (Hlow Hoo-let, “At last we fly!”)
Both birds are almost seven years old, and condors can live for more than 50 years. They were among the first cohort of condors released by the Yurok Tribe into the skies of Northern California and Southern Oregon in 2022 as part of the Northern California Condor Restoration Program.
Williams-Claussen told Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez last year A0 and A1 had begun spending more time together after being released, breaking off from the flock and flying across the terrain.
She said the condors spent months conducting a “nest searching pattern,” according to their satellite transmitters. “This year when they started looking around again, we really started to keep an eye on them because now they were really of the age where they could try and nest,” she explained.
Researchers believe the condors’ nest is located in the cavity of an old-growth redwood within Redwood National and State Parks, but do not know its exact location.
“I think we had a lot of hopes for being able to directly monitor it,” Williams-Claussen said. “Fortunately, or unfortunately, they’ve picked a really great nest that is incredibly remote [and] hard to reach.”
Behavioral clues
Without clear sight of the nest, the Yurok team has had to rely on bird behavior to gain clues as to their potential parenting, including from their wing transmitters and field observations.
Williams-Claussen said condors are social animals, and that both adults take care of eggs and chicks. “What we found was the female coming in… while the male stayed,” she explained.
“Then she’d go back and he’d come; that’s a very typical sort of pattern… they can both get the resources they need, but that egg is never left abandoned [and] it's warm enough.”
She said while the parents are going through the right moves, researchers are still being cautious. “A lot of times, the first one or two eggs do fail,” Williams-Claussen said. “They’re still figuring things out, but they seem to really be doing what they need to do.”
Yurok researchers said if an egg has been laid the condors will incubate it for around 55-60 days. A0 is believed to have laid in early February, so Williams-Claussen expects a hatching in early April.
“Should it be truly successful, and the chick makes it to fledging, I will be looking about six to seven months out from there for a new, unmarked condor to be flying with our flock,” she said.
“Having a wild-fledged chick, that right there is successful reintroduction.”
Challenges amid recovery
One prevalent across North America, the California condor’s population shrank to just 22 birds in 1982 as the bird risked disappearing altogether. Breeding programs were established in the 1980s, and the last wild condors were taken into captivity.
The Yurok Tribe says 24 condors are currently flying around their territory, but their return has not been without challenges. Some birds in California have been shot, while others have fallen victim to avian influenza or residual traces of the insecticide DDT.
Last month the Yurok Tribe reported receiving a “mortality signal” from condor B8 (‘Ne-kew, “Our little sibling”) on Jan. 7. The young male was the final bird released in its cohort last October. Crews discovered his heavily-scavenged remains in a remote part of the Bald Hills area.
An image of condor B8 (‘Ne-kew, “Our little sibling.”)Courtesy of the Yurok Tribe
Williams-Claussen said the condor was sent to a U.S. and Wildlife lab for a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death, after which B8 will be laid to rest at a private site.
Another major threat has been lead poisoning, which has sickened or killed multiple condors over the past three years. These poisonings are largely caused by ammunition fragments left in animal remains, despite California banning the use of lead ammunition for wildlife hunting in 2019.
Despite these setbacks, the condor’s return to Northern California has been fruitful. Williams-Claussen said the flock has extended their range from 30 miles to nearly 100 miles. Condors have flown down to the Eel River and Petrolia, and even made it to other traditional territories like the lands of the Wiyot people and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria.
The Yurok Tribe says it plans to release at least one group of condors every summer for at least 20 years to create a self-sustaining flock. Williams-Claussen anticipates the next cohort arriving this July, and said the birds will spend some time at their management facility to acclimate.
And then, the condors will return to their ancestral skies once more.
