View Full Version : Condors
AllDownhillFromHere
03-22-2017, 08:25
Anyone seen a condor while hiking the PCT in SoCal?
gwschenk
03-22-2017, 09:51
The PCT goes a little bit east of the condor areas. But you never know!
Not the PCT but in AZ at the Grand Canyon. A person assisting the Fish and Wildlife Service with a California Cali Condor Conservation group was watching a bird soaring the thermals, one of less than 80 in the wild at the time, through his telescope. When I asked what he was watching he told me this. Looking through his telescope I saw the painted? number 53 on it's wing., It was # 53 in the entire world in teh wild. Now there are more than 200 in the wild. HUUGE wingspan. The Cali Condor is a vulture with different species existing elsewhere in the U.S as far as as Florida. I've seen many a Turkey Vulture in FL.
Anyone seen a condor while hiking the PCT in SoCal?
like dogwood said; they hang out in an area around the grand canyon. the image here is down by the vermillion cliffs, on route 89A near Lees Ferry.
The feds did there program of capture and reintroduction just down the road from here.
If you see an individual with a hand held antennae walking about, he is probably checking up on a condor.
Your best chance at seeing one is when you are near Hwy 138. The condor sanctuaries are to the west 20+ miles, but they may branch out during the day.
But don't count on it. I hiked the 410 mile Condor Trail last year that goes right through their main range in the Los Padres NF and didn't see one. Instead, saw a lot of Turkey Vultures.
[QUOTE=Miner;2137581]Your best chance at seeing one is when you are near Hwy 138. The condor sanctuaries are to the west 20+ miles, but they may branch out during the day.
Good to know
Thx
like dogwood said; they hang out in an area around the grand canyon. the image here is down by the vermillion cliffs, on route 89A near Lees Ferry.
The feds did there program of capture and reintroduction just down the road from here.
If you see an individual with a hand held antennae walking about, he is probably checking up on a condor.
That's #73 as seen painted on the wing.
Your best chance at seeing one is when you are near Hwy 138. The condor sanctuaries are to the west 20+ miles, but they may branch out during the day.
But don't count on it. I hiked the 410 mile Condor Trail last year that goes right through their main range in the Los Padres NF and didn't see one. Instead, saw a lot of Turkey Vultures.
People confuse the Turkey vulture with the Cali Condor. They are different. You know the difference.
I checked the ebird map for condors, where a lot of birders report their sightings, and people have seen condors from around the Aqueduct/Antelope Valley up through the Tehachapis.
Map here: http://ebird.org/ebird/map/calcon?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2017
Once the trail gets relocated to Tejon Ranch in a few years (is there a timetable for that yet?), that may be a good place, too.
So, it's not likely that a PCT hiker will see any condors, but if I was hiking again, I would be on the lookout from roughly the Andersons' to Tehachapi Pass.
BTW, as for Grand Canyon condors, Navajo Bridge near Lee's Ferry and the release site on the Vermilion Cliffs are pretty much the only reliable places to see condors in AZ now. They used to regularly be visible from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, but they don't seem to hang out there anymore. I saw condors on about half of several GC trips in 04-05. I've been to the park about 10 times from 2015-present, and have not seen a single one.
While taking an afternoon siesta near Spanish Needle Creek, I opened my eyes and saw a couple of vultures circling overhead. Realizing they probably thought I was their next meal, I quickly jumped up and went on my way. Could have been condors, makes the story better, but they probably weren't.
garlic08
03-22-2017, 17:02
Just saw two on the wing from the South Kaibab Trail earlier this month.