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The newest bird on the brink to capture her fertile imagination is the CaliforniaCondor, on which she graciously shares her research and ruminations: Sometimes as a writer you recognize there’s been something overlooked in your midst—something quietly abiding. My first view of them was at a distance.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently proposed reintroducing CaliforniaCondors in the Pacific Northwest. Although sometimes thought of a bird of the Southwest, the condor’s historical range reaches as far north as British Columbia. But condors have not been in the Pacific Northwest for more than a century.
As many birders know, the last wild CaliforniaCondors were captured by the U.S. Audubon thought there should be some wild condors to serve as “guide birds” for condors that would eventually be released from the captive breeding program. Photos : CaliforniaCondors 1 , 2 , 3 by Pacific Southwest Region USFWS.
Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and CaliforniaCondor. As of 2024, the ‘Alala are extinct in the wild though they live on in captivity.
In California, where there is already a ban to protect released CaliforniaCondors , the Ventana Wildlife Society is giving away non-lead ammunition with the hope that it will encourage hunters to follow the law. At issue is that millions of birds each year end up eating the lead and dying.
The unrivaled aerial champions of the Americas have to be the two species of Condor, the one-time almost nearly extinct CaliforniaCondor and the truly massive Andean Condor. The CaliforniaCondor has a story well-known by anyone with an interest in birds. CaliforniaCondor , photo by Sheridan Woodley.
Must we wait until every released CaliforniaCondor is dead before fully banning lead ammunition for hunting? Three more are dead and three more have been taken into captivity, treated and released after suffering lead poisoning.
Can CaliforniaCondors be taught to avoid the dangers of power lines ? Prothonotary Warblers (like the dapper bird above captured for posterity by Corey) should carry frequent-flier cards—a recent Audubon-led study found that one geolocator-toting individual racked up more than 5,000 miles in eight months.
And oh crap, you guys, we really have to do something about the CaliforniaCondor situation right now, but what? And no one had seen the Eskimo Curlew around in a while. Or Bachman’s Warbler. Or the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Will it work? Because if it doesn’t there are no second chances (Black-footed Ferret aside.).
Alas, although I was once a California boy, I have never seen a CaliforniaCondor. Here in Mexico, I can almost always count on Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures to pad each outing’s list by two species. Occasionally I have been lucky enough to see Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures in tropical Mexico.
There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal CaliforniaCondor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind.
There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal CaliforniaCondor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind.
There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal CaliforniaCondor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind.
Let’s call it the CaliforniaCondor exception. The rules of the game, and what you can and cannot count, are the domain of the ABA. So while we are dealing with Hawaii and all, let’s change how one rule is applied!
Following passage of the United States Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the CaliforniaCondor ( Gymnogyps californianus ) was among the first 75 species listed for protection, the so-called “Class of 1967”. Reintroduction efforts expanded to Arizona in 1996, and later, to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico.
South of the city you’ll find rich birding around the Bay and further afield you’ll reach the soaring CaliforniaCondors of Big Sur and Pinnacles. The Western Bluebird above was photographed after a day spent volunteering with the GGRO’s banding program.
With an 8 to 9 1/2 foot wingspan and weighing in at up to 30 pounds, it rivals the CaliforniaCondor for size and weight. The American White Pelican ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) is a huge bird!
She’s contemplated CaliforniaCondors here before, but Passenger Pigeons seem to resonate most with her. Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. Every now and then I let myself fantasize about the wildest thought of all—about Passenger Pigeons.
CaliforniaCondors rely on Pinnacles , Grand Canyon , and Zion national parks, as well as Bitter Creek and Hopper Mountain NWRs. The Laysan Duck is found on only two remote Hawaiian atolls, both NWRs. Spotted Owls depend on old growth forests, largely in national forests and parks in the Pacific Northwest.
CaliforniaCondor. If you’re spotting a pattern here, it’s because I was enchanted with a BBC documentary as a kid called The Velvet Claw, a natural history of the order Carnivora. My favourite animal as a kid. I came even closer to seeing this one, as a friend and I were all set to drive to Big Sur to watch a release.
In terms of coloration, National Geographic describes the Andean Condors as “mostly black, but males have a distinctive white ‘collar’ around their necks and some white markings on their wings as well. Like their relatives, the Californiacondors, Andean condors have bald heads.”
A young couple caring for an injured Common Nighthawk; a college professor insistently taking a class of New York State undergraduates to see a Lucifer’s Hummingbird in an isolated part of Arizona; an ornithologist venturing into a terribly dangerous part of Mexico to find the probably extinct Imperial Woodpecker; a volunteer steward tracking (..)
” “The CaliforniaCondor ?” .” I shot a glance at the woman, hoping this would take her fancy, but she was now openly playing with a gold-cased iPhone. “Doves are booo-ring,” said the tech-bro next to the tech-bro. “And no one’s even heard of that one.” ” “No uggos.”
People who enjoy CaliforniaCondors will also enjoy baby moorhens. I distinctly saw that this definitively wild, vagrant Yellow-billed Duck from tropical Africa had a leg band from Cape Town bird observatory, but I sadly couldn’t read the entire code and therefore missed my chance at a WP first at Hannover Zoo.
The brewery names each of its beers after endangered species of California’s Central Coast, including the California Gnatcatcher ( Polioptila californica ) and Scripp’s Murrelet ( Synthliboramphus scrippsi ).
The Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura) is among the most abundant and widespread terrestrial birds endemic to North and Middle America. Their habitats vary widely in both rural and urban landscapes; open habitats are preferred and the species generally shuns only extensively forested areas and wetlands 1.
There are several species, such as CaliforniaCondor, for which new material had to be written (CaliforniaCondor is called “nearly extinct” in the older title and not included). Similar species and conservation appear to be original material. There is nothing wrong with this.
such as CaliforniaCondors and Passenger Pigeons. He was the founder of both and a devoted keeper of the spirit of threatened raptors the world over, including the CaliforniaCondor , which also underwent captivity in order to survive. Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds.
Condors, of course. CaliforniaCondors , La Brea Condors , and the Merriam’s Giant Condor — a magnificent bird even in death. Eagles with appealing names like Fragile Eagle and Errant Eagle , as well as the extant Golden Eagle.
For example, in California, populations of birds like Aleutian Cackling Goose have dramatically increased…but where did our Fulvous Whistling-Ducks go? We have more CaliforniaCondors , Bald Eagles , and Peregrine Falcons , but there seem to be less Spotted Owls , Burrowing Owls , Sooty Shearwaters.
The class also includes some of the most iconic endangered birds, including the CaliforniaCondor, Whooping Crane, and Puerto Rican Parrot. CaliforniaCondor – Gymnogyps californianus. The “ Class of 1967 ” includes 36 species of birds, and they range from those delisted due to recovery to those lost to extinction.
The new edition adds 11 species, birds such as Zone-tailed Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and CaliforniaCondor that are only seen in specific areas of North America. The original Hawks in Flight treated 23 raptors, the major hawks that migrate through North America.
But after the recent controversy that surrounded the renaming of the Gray Jay to Canada Jay , perhaps its best to leave these names be for now (and you can find Canada Jays in California and even Arizona, by the way).
Another is CaliforniaCondor in the Grand Canyon.). There’s little better than seeing an American Dipper work a rocky stream in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park, a near-perfect combination of bird and location. In contrast, one of my lifers in 2017 was an Emperor Goose in the Bay Area.
I had gotten a tip, that just below the observatory, above San Telmo De Abajo, is a feeding station, and protection area for the local CaliforniaCondors. This was to be my huge surprise day! This was going to be the home run in my first couple of months.
For example, in reading about the re-introduction of the CaliforniaCondor into the Pacific Northwest, the press releases referred to a “non-essential experimental” group of condors. The answer sometimes result in a post. I had no idea what that meant at the time, but it later became a post.
For example, in reading about the re-introduction of the CaliforniaCondor into the Pacific Northwest, the press releases referred to a “non-essential experimental” group of condors. The answer sometimes result in a post. I had no idea what that meant at the time, but it later became a post.
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