Condor Reintroduction

[Hydrophilic]

California condors to return to Northwest skies after 100-year absence

The Yurok Tribe of Northern California has worked for decades to return California condors to the Pacific Northwest. They hope to release their first birds this fall.

www.opb.org

Exciting news in my opinion. More big news for the Yurok tribe which will also see the Klamath dams removed in the near future if everything goes according to plan.

 

[Djfan]

Very cool.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

I attended a USFWS hearing on this back in 2019. They did a ton of public scoping down here. Excited to see it progressing.

 

[MarvB]

Pretty cool
Part of me does hope they develop a taste for spotted and barred owls however...JK

 

[3855WIN]

I assume more Condors will mean more lead free ammo.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

I assume more Condors will mean more lead free ammo.

Not something USFWS was pursuing. They're working with local orgs for voluntary nonlead usage in Oregon.

California is already lead free.

 

[Rzrbk]

Yurok Tribe Reports Massive Juvenile Salmon Kill In Klamath River Due To Pathogen, Lack Of Flushing Flow - Columbia Basin Bulletin

Last week, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that a Klamath River surface flushing flow for salmon will not be implemented this year due to extreme drought and low water supply.

www.cbbulletin.com

Bringing down the dams won't help if the conflict between irrigators and fish is not worked out. Choices still have to be made in years of low water...., do we "take" farmers economic viability or do we allow flows sustaining fish populations?

For Tribes, the return of the condor is culturally powerful in bringing world renewal and mending the circle of life. Lewis and Clark described condors on a whale carcass on the Oregon coast. I look forward to seeing their return. Barnes and Federal make excellent copper bullets!

 

[BucksnDucks]

Not something USFWS was pursuing. They're working with local orgs for voluntary nonlead usage in Oregon.

California is already lead free.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Condor was obviously the driving force to ban all lead throughout the state, whether condor range or not. I have mixed feelings about the re introduction down here. I don't approve of the still in use feeding stations after all these years down south. I also laugh at the folks with a Darwin sticker on their Prius overjoyed about feeding "wild birds". Cool birds to see in the wild, but at what point do we just leave them wild.

 

[jryoung]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Condor was obviously the driving force to ban all lead throughout the state, whether condor range or not. I have mixed feelings about the re introduction down here. I don't approve of the still in use feeding stations after all these years down south. I also laugh at the folks with a Darwin sticker on their Prius overjoyed about feeding "wild birds". Cool birds to see in the wild, but at what point do we just leave them wild.

I think most of the feeding stations are wound down. I think the only ones being uses are for new reintroductions. This was a major factor in the confusion/data that resulted it relatively flat numbers of lead poisoning post Ridley-Tree. We stopped using lead, but also changed the uncertainty of their diets at the same time.

 

[BucksnDucks]

I think most of the feeding stations are wound down. I think the only ones being uses are for new reintroductions. This was a major factor in the confusion/data that resulted it relatively flat numbers of lead poisoning post Ridley-Tree. We stopped using lead, but also changed the uncertainty of their diets at the same time.

As recently as September of 2020 I saw a feeding site being used for adult birds, not sure if it was temporary or not. Not my biggest concern, just wondering at what point/population do the birds become wild. I also think there was more to the original decline than the two factors always cited by VWS (lead and shootings).

 

[Rzrbk]

I wonder if the southern Ca birds are viable because of debris they commonly ingest requiring surgery. N Ca and S Or has a more pristine environment, relatively speaking. I believe it's colorful plastics and such. I believe more require surgery from ingesting debris than from lead poisoning. Anyway, it doesn't seem sustainable in terms of counting as a safe population under ESA given the mass of humanity in close proximity. I believe Snake River, Upper Columbia, Grand Canyon, N. CA are better long term prospects.

Condors and Trash
Yes, condors, like other animals such as albatross, have been known to eat trash. In fact, trash ingestion was found to be the leading cause of death for wild condor nestlings in a study published in 2012 (Rideout et al., Journal of Wildlife Diseases). Why condors ingest trash is unknown, but condor biologists think nestlings are exposed to trash items that have been brought back to the nesting area intentionally by their parents. (If you are interested to learn more about this topic, look up this paper “Why do condors and vultures eat junk: The implications for conservation” by Houston D, Mee A, McGrady M. published in the Journal of Raptor Research volume 41, pages 235-238 2007.)
We have seen condor nestlings ingest items such as coins, bottle caps and even a light bulb filament!

 

[RobertD]

Interesting reading in the article and you guys comments. Condors are cool birds. Thanks for sharing OP.

 

[gouch]

I hope they are successful, it would sure be cool to see them big old bird flying around here. Seems like they have been talking about getting rid of those dams forever, I'm wondering if they will ever come out.