California Condor

 About the Endangered California Condor

The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is the largest bird in North America and in a critically endangered state. The California condor is in the Cathartidae family (New World vulture) along with the black vulture and the turkey vulture. California condors are soaring birds and can reach over 40mph in flight. The bird became extinct in the wild in 1987 because all were captured. Since then, it has been reintroduced to regions in Arizona, Utah, California, and Mexico. The Cornell Lab states that there are around 230 California condors in the wild in California with another 160 in captivity.

Appearance—the California condors feathers are black with patches of white on the underside of their wings. The head is mostly bald but young birds have grey skin; breeding adults have yellow to bright yellow heads. The bird can weigh up to 26lbs with a wingspan of 9.8ft. 

Habitat—rocky shrubland, coniferous forest, and oak savanna

California condor nest on cliffs because their heavy body makes it difficult to takeoff. They scavenge in places from Pacific beaches to mountain forests and meadows. It is difficult to come across the condor’s nesting grounds because of their remote locations, they are easier to spot when they are searching for food. There are two sanctuaries in California chosen for California condors for their nesting areas: Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary in the San Rafael Wilderness and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in the Los Padres National Forest.

Role in Ecosystem

Like other vultures, California condors eat carrion (decaying flesh). They prefer to eat large mammals: whales, sea lions, cattle, pigs, bears, etc. and they can go up to two weeks without eating. Animals that feed on carrion are the original reuse and recyclers. They don’t take away life/kill in order to score a meal. They are the Earth’s clean-up crew.

These birds also have powerful stomachs that are capable of digesting decaying flesh and making them resistant to disease and infection. And because decaying carcasses can transmit disease to humans and animals, California condors help prevent disease outbreaks by eating them. This process releases nutrients that benefit plants and insects as well.

California condors indicate the health of an ecosystem because they are sensitive to pollutants and toxins. Paying attention to these birds can alert people to the state of their ecosystem. 

A California condor defending its young

Cause of Decline/Threats

·       Lead

o   Animals shot by lead bullets poison California condors and when enough is ingested, the condor dies.

o   Ranching and hunting lifestyles are a threat to condors when they use lead bullets. Even if the bullet is taken out, fragments of lead remain and end up in the bird’s stomach.

·       Micro trash

o   Micro trash consumption is the main cause of death for California condor nestlings.

o   Along with meat, chicks are given bone chips by the hunting parents—perhaps mistaking trash for bones, these chicks are given bottle caps, glass, and other pieces of metal and plastic. Just like lead poisoning, consuming enough trash will kill the baby bird.

·       Electrocution

o   Unlike smaller birds, California condors cannot land on a telephone wire without touching both live wires, thus electrocuting them to death.

o   Captive birds were taught through aversion training in order to recognize that electrical wires are to be avoided.

·       Other

o   Car collisions when feeding on roadkill, rodenticide poisoning, and eggshell thinning due to DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene found in insecticide). 

Micro trash found in a dead California condor chick. 

Why is this important?

As stated before in the ‘role in ecosystem’ section, California condors are vital to the well-being of an ecosystem. Without these birds feeding on carrion and eating the decaying animals that would possibly spread viruses and diseases, there would be more outbreaks in animals and humans. Condors not only clean up dead bodies, but they also clean up diseases in dead flesh.

The consuming of dead meat also releases nutrients to plants and insects. Without California condors, the ecosystem wouldn’t be in its healthiest state.

Toxic/pollution detection is another benefit to the presence of the California condor. Without them, the ‘canary in the coal mine’ would be lost.

The California condor is also the largest bird in North America. Losing a bird with such an imposing title would be a tragedy. 

Current conservation efforts

·       The California condor conservation project might be one of the most expensive conservation projects for a species in United States history. It has cost over $35 million dollars.

·       According to the National Park Service website every wild condor has a visual ID tag at a radio transmitter, some are also given GPS transmitters.

·       When a California condor nest is spotted, biologists monitor is regularly. They will conduct health checks on the chicks, remove trash from the nest, and when it is 4 months old—give the bird a radio transmitter and vinyl ID tag.

·       The birds are tested for lead poisoning

·       Breeding California condors captively and releasing them into the wild

Conservation through geography

A lot is already being done for the California condor in terms of utilizing geography. The birds are equipped with GPS tracking devices and tags so they can be seen from the sky. https://condorspotter.com/ is a website that anyone can use to identify a California condor that they have spotted in the wild. The GPS tracking has helped scientists come up with condor sanctuaries from reading the data where these birds frequented.

In 2014 a project called Condor Watch was started. It asked volunteers to examine images of California condors associated with release sites managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Ventana Wildlife Society. The website included identifying tagged condors and marking the distance to animal carcasses. From this information, biologists could use the data to identify which birds were at risk of lead poisoning. This project ended in 2020.

Because lead poisoning is the greatest threat to the California condor, I think that one of the most helpful projects is the Condor Watch. Although this problem would go away if people stopped using lead bullets—I think that focusing on mapping inland feeding sites (where hunting/ranching activity) is going on would help locate sick birds or perhaps stop the problem in the source and prohibit lead bullets from being used in these areas. Of course, GPS information from the condors is what would be needed to follow through with this idea.

How to help!

·       Pick up micro trash! Items like broken glass, bottle caps, and bits of plastic and metal can lead to the death of condor chicks.

·       Use non-lead ammunition for hunting, disposing of pests, and livestock

·       Do not leave poisons (like antifreeze) or garbage out in the wild that these birds can get to

·       Support The Peregrine Fund and the Birds of Prey they help by volunteering, donating, or shopping through their rewards program https://www.peregrinefund.org/membership

·       Do not litter, dispose of your trash responsibly!

·       If you see a California condor, email the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service California Condor Recovery Program at hoppermountain@fws.gov with the bird’s tag number and color