California Condor Soars In San Diego Skies;
Public Can Aid Researchers

For nearly a century California condors have been absent from the skies of San Diego County, but this changed April 4, 2007 as a female condor released in Baja California, Mexico, crossed the border into the United States. She returned to Mexico on April 6.

Since June, 2006, several condors have made exploratory flights north from the Sierra San Pedro de Martír National Park release site in Baja California, Mexico. Some flights have come as close as 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the international border, leaving researchers anticipating their return into San Diego’s backcountry soon. California condor No. 321 took that historic flight, soaring from the California condor release site in Mexico along the Sierra Juarez mountain ridge, then flying past the U.S. border along the Jucumbra Mountains and was last documented in the Anza-Borrego area through GPS. Condor 321 was hatched at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and released in 2005. Click here to learn how to identify a California condor.

“The aim of the California Condor Recovery Program is to unite the southern region of the condor’s range in Mexico with the birds in California,” says Mike Wallace, Ph.D., Zoological Society of San Diego scientist and the California Condor Recovery Program team leader. “This first flight into San Diego County could be the beginning of the connection between these two populations.”

The last documented sighting of a free-flying condor in San Diego was in 1910. The birds disappeared from Baja California in 1937. The Zoological Society of San Diego began a reintroduction program in Baja California in 2002 led by Dr. Wallace through the department of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES), the Zoological Society’s research division. It is these same birds that are now extending their reach by exploring the mountain ridge leading them toward the border.

The California Condor Recovery Program team is now one step closer to reaching its goal of establishing two independent populations of California condors. Condors released in Central California and the Baja California birds are expected to eventually become one population. To date, the Central California birds have flown as far south as the San Bernardino Mountains. The second population of birds is being established in Arizona. See a map of the California condor release locations.

With condor No. 321 now in the U.S., 10 condors are flying free in Mexico, with five birds waiting for release next month. Because the condors recognize the Mexican national park as the place where food is provided and it is where other condors live, the female may return to Baja the same day or stay one night in the beginning. Eventually she may choose to stay longer in rural areas, particularly on boulders along the mountain communities, especially when she connects with the Central California birds.

Researchers first became aware of the condor’s approach to the border in June through Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that showed No. 321’s location. GPS technology will allow biologists to continue to monitor the birds’ movements as they venture further from their home base.

The public can help researchers if a sighting is made by e-mailing the location of the condor, its identifying tag number, and what the bird was doing to condors@sandiegozoo.org. However, it is important to note that the California condor is a critically endangered species and is protected by the federal government. The public should not interact with it or inhibit its actions. Human interaction can interfere with its return to San Diego’s wilderness.

There are several large bird species flying over the skies of San Diego County, but a California condor can be easily distinguished from other birds by its size and wing coloration. The California condor is the largest bird in North America with a 9- to 10-foot (2.7- to 3-meter) wingspan. In flight, a condor can be identified by a white triangle across the middle of its wings, whereas a turkey vulture has a light gray band on the rear edge of the wing and a juvenile golden eagle has a white spot on each wing. The mature eagle has no white.

The California Condor Recovery Program is a team effort managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the Zoological Society of San Diego, Los Angeles Zoo, The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, the Oregon Zoo, California Fish and Game, Arizona Game and Fish, the Bureau of Land Management, and various Mexican government and conservation agencies.

The California condor population numbers more than 270 birds, with approximately 125 living in the wild. There are more than 120 condors in the four zoological institutions including 28 at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

Four birds can be seen by guests visiting the Wild Animal Park’s Condor Ridge, a habitat showcasing some of North America’s rare and endangered species. To date, 127 condors have hatched at the Park; 87 of these birds have been released into the wild including the last four condors released in Baja California.

Reminder: The California condor is a critically endangered species, meaning it is highly protected by the federal government. Condors should not be approached and attempting to feed the birds may result in the birds' return to captivity permanently . If you see one please let us know, but do not try to interact with it or inhibit its actions. The Wild Animal Park, along with the entire California Condor Recovery Team, is working diligently to help this species return to its native habitat throughout California and south into Baja California, Mexico. Human interaction can interfere with its return to our skies, so please observe them from afar and help us welcome California’s largest bird species back into San Diego.

More

California Condor Recovery Program
Milestones in California Condor Conservation
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