The field season has blasted off in a full swing of movement for the
condors here in Arizona. Just last week we had 27 birds in the Grand
Canyon, a few in Utah, a dozen or so on the Kaibab Plateau, a few at the
Vermilion Cliffs Release Site, and a few already investigating southern
Utah.
Toward the end of last week condors two condors, 136 and 187 from the
East Kaibab nest, unexpectedly showed up together and roosted at the
Vermilion Cliffs Release Site. This was their second breeding attempt
in as many years, and we were hopeful that our observations of their
continued attendance to the nest that they might have had a hatchling by
now. We were unsure due to the depth and cover shielding the incubating
birds from our direct view. Field Manager Thom Lord and Senior Field
Biologist Eddie Feltes entered the vacant nest cave the next morning
just after sunrise to take a look and found an in-tact egg. They
collected the egg and we will be sending it in for analysis soon. You
may remember last year the pair produced a fertile egg that died just
prior to internal pip.
Another pair on their first attempt, condors 133 and 158 in a cave on
the West Kaibab are still tending an egg, but this one too has gone far
past the expected day of hatch. We have had excellent observations of
this pair and the egg from the other side of the canyon. The pair's
behavior and attention to the egg seemed perfect, but still appears as
though they have failed on their first attempt. We will attempt to
recover this egg as well.
The two adult male condors still in treatment for lead poisoning from
last season (122 and 134) are progressing slowly, but still alive! We
have high hopes that they will be back in the mix next year to
contribute to the breeding effort in the wild. We thank Dr. Orr and the
Phoenix Zoo for their efforts in treating these critically ill birds and
those who remain in the wild today as a result of their efforts.
That's all for now......
Sincerely,
Chris
Chris Parish
The Peregrine Fund
Condor Project Director
HC 31 Box 22
Mormon Lake, AZ 86038
(928) 606-5155 cell
(928) 354-2215 fax
cparish@peregrinefund.org
