SW Condor Update - 2009-03 (March)

Hello Condor Enthusiasts-

Here is the most recent Condor Tag Chart (151KB PDF File)

As of 3/24/09 -- 72 wild condors in this area

From the Peregrine Fund's web site:
On March 12 Field Manager Eddie Feltes posted a new "Notes from the Field"

For those who don't have time to read the whole article, the gist is as follows, with the most important information in blue:

--Nearly-13-year-old male #134/tag 34 is missing and presumed dead. His former mate, female #210/tag 10 has paired up with male #122/tag 22 who previously lost his mate, female #119. They seem to be incubating an egg in the same area and perhaps the same cave that 210 & 134 used in 2007, in the vicinity of Tapeats Creek, Grand Canyon NP, 40-some miles downstream of Phantom Ranch.

--Nearly-3-year-old female #404/tag E0 is also missing and presumed dead.

--4 eggs are believed to have been laid in Arizona as of March 12. One was Marble Canyon, Grand Canyon NP by #253F/tag 53 and #223M/tag 3; this egg has been broken but the pair could possibly lay again. The other 3 eggs have not been visually confirmed, but are strongly suspected by the behavior of the mated pairs. Besides the Tapeats Creek, Grand Canyon NP nest, this includes two nests in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. One is the previously successful breeding pair of male #114/no tag and female #126/tag 26, using the same cave they've used before. The other is the same pair that failed in their nesting attempt in the same area but a different cave last year, male #158/no tag and female #195/tag 95.

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From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's monthly California Condor Status Report:
The following numbers are adjusted to include previously released birds now being held in temporary captivity, and to reflect the presumed death of condors 134 & 404.

California condor numbers as of Feb 28, 2009:
World Total: 319
In California: 90
In Baja: 18
In AZ/UT: 69 on Feb 28, plus four more birds released on March 7 makes 73 since the March 7 release.
In Captivity (including 6 young condors in the flight pen at Vermilion Cliffs awaiting their first release): 138 since the March 7 release.

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Around the South Rim of the Grand Canyon:
Condor Talks are taking place daily once again, meeting at Lookout Studio at 3:30 p.m. Condors are sometimes being seen either during or after the program, but no guarantees! There do seem to be condor sightings reported from the south rim or the South Kaibab, Bright Angel, or Plateau Point trails just about every day, but the birds don't always make it to the program.

--Marker

Ms. Marker Marshall
Park Ranger--Interpretation
Grand Canyon National Park