Californian condor news

vogelcommando said:
25% of the Condors in California are now wild-hatched :) :

Featured | Endangered condor takes first flight
Click to expand...
This number should increase over time of course! It underlines that a recovery effort is a long term planning exercise encompassing various disciplines and in all fairness is a method for ecosystem restoration (your are adding in what has been missing from the equation for decades).

I think we can only safely say that California condors are safe if each individual population has 100+ breeding pairs, a general success rate in hatchlings of 50%+ and at least 35-50 chicks raised to fledgeling stage, and 50% of fledging surviving to adulthood and reproducing themselves , connectivity exists between different source populations across national boundaries even, with safe and secure stepping stones in between.

Before we reach that stage, I am afraid it will be another 25 years ..., by which time I will be in an old man. Please let me see that day ...!
 
birdsandbats said:
A new proposal would allow a wind power project in southern California to kill up to two condors a year with no legal problems, as long as they donate millions of dollars to condor conservation. An interesting move that I am not sure of my opinion on. Does anyone have any thoughts on it?:

Government Proposes First Take Permit for Condor Deaths at a Wind Farm
Click to expand...
The site talked about condors could be threatened although no condors have been killed by wind turbines yet. Looking through their plan it looks solid, they have trackers on the birds so they know if one is approaching the farm they can shut off the turbines and they will remove or hide all dead livestock in the area so condors aren't interested in the area. They will also contribute to the Oregon zoos program so they can replace any birds killed. This sounds like a pretty solid plan for the birds conservation.
Even if they didn't have extra birds to be released and there was a constant 2 birds killed per year(that was their estimate but it is not definite) the birds still need the wind turbines. Large predatory birds like the California Condors are threatened by Climate Change so they need these wind turbines to replace greenhouse gas emissions.
So yes I think a POSSIBLE 2 deaths per year in exchange for better protection in captivity and in the wild is worth it.
 
Here are some numbers and information I got while in Zion national park. 530 Condors over all, 350 are wild, 105 are in the south Utah north Arizona area. There are 5 in Zion, one breeding pair has reared two chicks, and one of those chicks has left the nest and is near the border of Utah and Arizona now. The other is 8 weeks old. The fifth condor who was introduced with the breeding pair was forced to leave the main canyon by the father and occasionally comes by the canyon. The main news is the condor chick born 8 weeks ago but I figured it was good to give some new numbers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top