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Description
This time in the WILD! Small numbers of California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) are now breeding at a few localities in California, Arizona, and Utah. This individual is part of the population that has been established along the Big Sur coastline in southern Monterey County, California. I was on high alert as we drove through the area, checking every vulture and hawk in hopes of a condor; then I spotted this monster of bird flying low over the highway! We pulled over and watched this juvenile and two adults circle above us for about thirty minutes. There huge size was immediately apparent as they dwarfed the Turkey Vultures that accompanied them. If you're a birdwatcher like me, you'll be happy to know that the American Birding Association recently declared wild California Condors to be "countable", so they are now officially wild birds with self sustaining populations, though most still bear tags and transmitters.

Description
This time in the WILD! Small numbers of California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) are now breeding at a few localities in California, Arizona, and Utah. This individual is part of the population that has been established along the Big Sur coastline in southern Monterey County, California. I was on high alert as we drove through the area, checking every vulture and hawk in hopes of a condor; then I spotted this monster of bird flying low over the highway! We pulled over and watched this juvenile and two adults circle above us for about thirty minutes. There huge size was immediately apparent as they dwarfed the Turkey Vultures that accompanied them. If you're a birdwatcher like me, you'll be happy to know that the American Birding Association recently declared wild California Condors to be "countable", so they are now officially wild birds with self sustaining populations, though most still bear tags and transmitters.