Wild Times!

Princess with her green "99" wing ID tag

Princess (#799) and the other 2015 wild fledged birds (#773, 787, & 789)  continue to thrive in Big Sur.  They are "regulars" on the condor cam and were spotted more recently exploring the Big Sur coastline.

Untagged bird (we presume #787 or #789)

Currently, untagged condors 787 and 789 are only discernible by subtle differences in feather growth patterns and their true identities won't be known until we obtain a blood sample for DNA analyses.  Obtaining DNA will require trapping them, which we hope happens in the next couple weeks...fingers crossed. Once the DNA confirms their identity we will attach a colored ID number tag and transmitter.
Do we really have to tag them? For now, yes, it's especially important that we know what happens to wild-raised condors, they represent the future of the flock. Until next time...

This photo shows the subtle differences between the two untagged birds

A New Addition!

Last week, VWS Biologists were excited to be able to confirm the existence of a second untagged juvenile! This chick is believed to be Condor #789, the offspring of Condors #199 and #438. Biologists were at the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary watching Condor #787 (a confirmed tagless juvenile, aka “Sky”) perched next to one of her moms when another untagged bird flew past! 
The next day Condor #199, who we suspect to be the new chick’s father, pushed all the other birds off of a calf carcass on the release slope and stood guard, giving his chick a chance to feed uninterrupted. 

Condor #789 was born in a redwood nest deep in the Ventana Wilderness. Because of the inaccessibility and remoteness of the nest, biologists were unable to visit it to determine if the chick hatched and fledged successfully. This chick was successfully fledged with absolutely no human intervention or assistance – completely wild! The mystery chick’s true identity will not be confirmed until biologists are able to capture it and perform a blood test to determine his or her parentage and sex.  Until then keep an eye on the condor cams, you may be able to spot her or our other untagged juvenile, Condor #787!

Girl Power!

Photo of Chick #787 shortly after hatch

We documented yet another fascinating display of condor survival this nest season. Condor females 317 and 171 have been working together to raise a chick in the wild in a nest cave in an extremely remote location in Big Sur. Ca.  VWS Biologists were only able to access the nest twice due to its remoteness.  On the final nest check, they left a trail camera behind to capture the wild hatching process, an event never captured on film.  Biologists hoped this camera would capture a time lapse sequence of the chick hatching and eventual fledging from the nest cave.  

Females #171 and #317 join forces

Biologists are also curious to see how two females will raise a wild chick without a male present. They believe that the two females joined forces after the suspected male mate, #242,to one of the females died shortly after nesting began. Condors parents do most of the rearing, but they also get help from other condors in the flock.  This could be the case with this pair, one female lost her mate and another came in to assist for the greater good of the flock.  

This time lapse video captures nest activity from 4/10/2015-5/27/2015. The chick eventually grew big enough to knock over the camera.  VWS biologists believe the chick, #787 (sex unknown), has fledged and will eventually emerge to join the rest of the flock in the coming months.