04/03/2024
Condors were spotted at Taft Gardens! Witnessing a group of condors passing over Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve last month was exhilarating. And it was special for our friend to document this momentous occasion as we prepare for Taft Gardens' brand new event, Intro to Birding, April 6th and 13th!
Once on the brink of extinction, California condors are now making a remarkable recovery. They once ranged from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. They can live up to 60 years and have a wingspan as large as 10 feet across. In 1982, only 23 condors survived worldwide. The causes of the decrease in condors included poisoning, shooting, habitat degradation, and the collection of eggs and feathers. However, by 1987, all remaining wild condors were placed into a captive breeding program in an effort to save the species from extinction. In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began reintroducing captive-bred condors to the wild. In 2004, the Recovery program reached an important milestone with the first successful chick hatched in the wild. In 2008, more California condors flew free in the wild than in captivity for the first time since the program began. Each wild condor is outfitted with a visual ID tag and at least one radio transmitter. Some birds are also given GPS transmitters. These allow biologists to track the movements and behaviors of the flock using radio telemetry and GPS mapping. As of December 31st, 2022, the total wild, free-flying population was 347, with 9 wild-fledged chicks and 31 newly released into the wild from captivity. If you want to identify or learn more about a tagged bird in the wild, visit CondorSpotter.com.
Condor facts from www.fws.gov and www.nps.gov
