The California Condor is without doubt one of the rarest birds in North America, and ranks among the many rarest on the earth. These huge raptors are North America’s largest birds and have soared over the continent for tens of 1000’s of years. Sadly, they’re most well-known right now due to the big conservation efforts which have gone into preserving and safeguarding the species.
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California Condor numbers have been precarious for many years. Within the Seventies, only some dozen particular person birds nonetheless lived. Since conservation efforts started in earnest within the Eighties, it’s been a race in opposition to the clock. Captive breeding applications have been established to protect California Condor populations and put together them for re-release into their native habitats. In 2020, it was fortunately reported that California Condor numbers had surpassed 500 birds for the primary time in 50 years. This thrilling growth was rapidly adopted by a tragic setback.
In April of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that at the very least 20 California Condors from a flock in Arizona had succumbed to the Extremely Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak. In most contexts, a species-wide lack of only a couple dozen people has a minimal affect, however for the California Condor it was a probably ruinous blow.
A part of the explanation that California Condors are so uncommon is that they breed very slowly, often producing a chick each different yr. Their younger take a number of years to succeed in a mature breeding age, so the lack of grownup birds can set the inhabitants again by a number of years.
When this occurred, it appeared like all the way forward for the California Condor is likely to be teetering towards the brink as soon as extra. Fortuitously, one outbreak has not destroyed the fruits of a long time of conservation. Within the midst of an unsure future, there are nonetheless triumphs.
One such triumph arrived in Contra Costa County final week. For the primary time in a century, a flock of California Condors was tracked transferring by means of Contra Costa County. This comes after a 2021 go to by a single condor to the realm which had been the primary sighting of a California Condor to the area in 100 years.
Contra Costa County sits to the East of the San Francisco Bay. It’s a lot additional North than the standard sightings for these birds. Whereas a flock of 26 people was initially tracked within the space, six went on to go to the realm of Mount Diablo, the rolling hilly mountain that sits close to the middle of the county.
This can be a large victory for condor conservation and for the Bay Space. Native wildlife fans and birdwatchers hope that the longer term will maintain many extra condor sightings for the realm.
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