On the first picture below an older condor by the name of ‘Amigo’ is sitting on a tree together with his younger friend ‘Fuego’, awaiting the thermals. They always cruise together along Highway 1, and belong to the Big Sur flock (of about 30 birds). To keep track of the birds, they have been marked with number signs, where ‘Amigo’ is 4 and ‘Fuego’ 70. In 2014, ‘Amigo’ was fifteen years old, raised in the San Diego Zoo, and deployed on Big Sur in 2000.

As part of the program of saving the California condor, Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) started in 1997 to release birds into the wild, raised in captivity. This famous wildlife conservation program began in the 1980’s, when the drastic step was taken to catch the last 27 wild condors and start a breeding program at the Los Angeles and San Diego zoos. In 1992 the first birds were introduced into the wild in South California, and today about 300 condors are found in California, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California. The program is still going on, since the goal has not yet been reached of having two sustainable wild populations and one in captivity. For more information on these condors, see http://www.condorspotter.com

On pictures 02 – 04  ‘Amigo’ (4) takes off first and starts rising on the updrafts created at the coast.

On pictures 05 – 09 ’Fuego’ (70) also takes off, passes and joins ’Amigo’ – his stepfather. ’Fuego’ is here six years old.

On pictures 10 – 11 Zenith (50) –  a two-year old immature condor -, sitting further down on the same tree, also takes off, and passes.

On picture 12 another immature condor – the three-year old ’Zephyr’ (31) also passes, and joins ’Amigo’ and ’Fuego’. Together they rise higher and higher on the thermal columns and disappear in the distance.