Condors Believed to be Nesting in Yurok Country for First Time in 100+ Years

Condor A1 (Hlow Hoo-let) soars across the sky in far Northern California.

Press release from the Yurok Tribe:

A free-flying pair of condors in the Pacific Northwest recently established the region’s first nest in more than a century.

Based on a series of behavioral changes and an analysis of flight data, the Northern California Condor Restoration Program determined that condors A0 (Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chween-kah) and A1 (Hlow Hoo-let) may have started tending to a newly laid egg in early February, although actual confirmation of an egg is impossible due to the remoteness of the nesting site. A0 would have deposited the egg within a cavity of an old-growth redwood in the Redwood Creek drainage after months of searching for the ideal location.

“This is a huge moment for our Northern California flock,” said Chris West, the Northern California Condor Restoration Program Manager and Yurok Wildlife Department Senior Biologist. ““It is important to remember that these are wild birds. We trap them occasionally for health monitoring, but if they nest, and how successful they are, is totally up to them, with as little interference from us as possible.”

NCCRP is thrilled by this development, although much can still happen between now and the potential hatch day. In wild populations, the initial egg produced by a breeding pair of condors frequently exhibits low survival, due to the adults’ lack of experience with the incubation and care process.

“I have been waiting for this moment since the first condors arrived in 2022,” said Yurok Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen. “As a scientist, I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cheer for these young parents’ success.”

Condors A1 (studbook 969), and A0 (studbook 973) will incubate the approximately 10‑ounce, light‑blue egg for 55 to 58 days. These large scavengers engage in biparental incubation, with the male and female alternating incubation duties and brooding and care of the chick once it hatches.

NCCRP staff are closely monitoring the breeding pair using data collected from wing transmitters and field observations. Changes in the adult condors’ rates and timing of feeding can be used to determine how the nest is doing, hatching of a chick, and various stages of the chick’s development. The NCCRP is also currently working through the logistics for potential use of an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone for visual confirmation of the nest.

Free flying since 2022, A1 and A0 were among the first condors reintroduced to the Northern California/Southern Oregon area. Currently, 24 condors reside in the wild within Yurok ancestral territory. With a goal of establishing a self-sustaining condor flock, NCCRP plans to release at least one group of birds every summer for at least 20 years.

A0 or Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chweenkah’ which translates to “She carries our prayers”, was the only female in the first released NCCRP cohort. She is 6 years and 10 months old and was bred at Oregon Zoo before being transferred to NCCRP for release in 2022.

A1, nicknamed ‘Hlow Hoo-let’ which means “At last I (or we) fly!”, is also 6 years and 10 months old and was bred at the World Center for Birds of Prey.

Condors are slow to reproduce, with females laying only one egg at a time, and usually nesting only every other year. Young condors take months to learn to fly and rely on their parents for more than a year. They reach sexual maturity around 6 years old.

Most commonly, condors stay paired with mates for successive years, although a new partner will be sought if one dies. If condors fail to produce a chick, they may split up, but they will typically remain as a pair if successfully fledging chicks.

In general, condors begin breeding between 6 and 7 years old and can live more than 50 years. The next oldest male and female condors under NCCRP management are 5 year and 11-month-old male A2 (studbook 1010) Nes-kwe-chokw, and 4 year and 8-month-old female A7 (studbook 1109) He-we-chek’.

Northern California Condor Restoration Program

The Northern California Condor Restoration Program is a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks. The program has received funding from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Administration for Native Americans, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Global Conservation Fund, Redwood National Park Foundation, and many small donations from the public. The Yurok Tribe initiated the condor reintroduction project in 2008 as part of a long‑term effort to heal the landscape within Yurok ancestral territory, a landscape to which the health and well‑being of the Yurok people is inextricably connected. The restoration of California condor, prey-go-neesh in the Yurok language, is a vital part of this environmental and cultural revitalization effort. Alongside condor recovery, the Tribe is also undertaking large‑scale fish and wildlife habitat restoration throughout the Klamath River, its tributaries, and the surrounding region.

 

If you’d like to support the Yurok Tribe’s condor restoration work, please visit – https://www.yuroktribe.org/condor-conservation-donor-information