Is another baby condor on the way at Canyon?
A pair of California Condors within sight of a South Rim overlook
appears to have an egg in their nest, further fueling excitement of the
continued success of the reintroduction program in northern Arizona.
Peregrine Fund biologist Eddie Feltes, who monitored nine condors
resting along cliff areas near the South Rim's Lookout Studio on
Tuesday, said that condors 119 and 122 appear to be incubating an egg
in their nest.
The nest can be seen from Hopi Point on the west rim along a butte
known as the Battleship, but Feltes said biologists need a high-powered
scope to make observations of the nest about 1,000 feet away from the
overlook.
The pair represents one of two this season that biologists believe
could become -- or might already be -- parents of a bouncing baby
condor. The other pair has nested at the Vermilion Cliffs, near the
site where the Fund releases the birds after raising them in captivity.
But Feltes cautions people not to get baby crazy, yet. "We think the
parents are still tending to the nest, but we haven't had any visual
signs of a condor chick," he said. In the past, condor pairs have laid
eggs that have not hatched.
The California Condors continue to serve as a star attraction at the
South Rim of the Grand Canyon. At Lookout Studio on Tuesday, condor No.
48 hung out nearby at the end of a rock outcropping, a popular spot for
watching the endangered species that is the largest bird in North
America. "One of the main reasons they come here is that they're
strictly visual. They see large groups of people in flashy clothes and
they want to check them out," Feltes said of the condors. "But they
hang out on the ledges where no one can bother them."
The staff at the Grand Canyon has started daily talks about the condors
at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Studio, which also sells California Condor
merchandise. A display features T-shirts, magnets, photographs and
commemorative spoons and even thimbles. Feltes said that this year has
been going well for the condors. They've managed to stay out of
trouble, and the biologists have had to deal with relatively few
problems. With a recent release and a healthy new youngster, northern
Arizona now has 45 birds in the wild.
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