California condors

Weeks ago a JOLT reader asked, “Will we ever see California condors in Thurston County?” She had read an article about the work to recover acutely endangered California condors that mentioned a few of them were being released in the Pacific Northwest.  

First, some background about this remarkable bird. The California condor is the largest bird in North America, with a wingspan of 9 feet and weighing up to 25 pounds. Like their cousins the vultures, they feed on carrion, the remains of dead animals. They soar widely searching for their food. They are easy to identify both because of their size and because they are black and white, and they have a naked head.  

During the ice age, large mammals roamed much of North America and provided a ready food source for condors, that were also widespread. With the end of the ice age, their food source and range shrank, but they continued to be seen along the Pacific Coast. In February 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition collected and documented a condor at Clatsop, near the mouth of the Columbia River.  

But by the early 20th century, they had become uncommon, found only the mountains and coastline of California, and during that century their range and numbers continued to decline precipitously. They were occasionally hunted for “sport,” but it was lead poisoning that caused most of their population decline. Many hunters use lead bullets, and when an animal is hit, the bullet shatters into many smaller pieces. Condors ate bits of lead that contaminated the remains of hunter or farmer-killed animals. Lead enters the bloodstream during digestion and is cumulative. It is highly toxic and attacks multiple organs, usually leading to death. 

Banning lead ammunition is increasingly common. Since the early 1990s, it has been prohibited for waterfowl hunting with shotguns (waterfowl, especially geese and swans, were picking up lead shot as they fed and subsequently dying at alarming rates). As of 2026, in California, the use of lead ammunition is banned for all hunting.  

A California condor.

Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Public Domain

In 1967, California condors were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but at first that just meant monitoring their decline. As they continued to decline, a controversial decision was made to capture all the remaining birds and create a captive breeding program. Both desperation and science drove that decision. When the last bird was captured in April 1987, the total number of living California condors was only 27, all in captivity at two locations in California. 

Even before 1987, each living condor was given a wing tag and an identifying number. Genetic studies determined that the initial captive population included enough genetic variation to develop a viable population and, very important, the captive condors themselves responded with breeding activities and successful nesting, with the first chick hatching in 1988.  

And, just as important, the program managers had to develop techniques to “rewild” the resulting offspring as they matured. They had to be taught how to fly and soar, of course, but also how to search for and consume dead wild game — all this without the young birds becoming bonded to the managers themselves. 

It’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of this management challenge. Released birds had to be monitored to learn how and why some thrived and others didn’t and, because of lead poisoning, do periodic health checks. And if lead poisoning was detected, initiate treatment to help living birds survive. 

The captive population started increasing, at first slowly but eventually at a faster pace. The first captive-bred condors were released into the wild in 1992 in the coastal mountains of Central California and Southern California. Those birds succeeded in establishing small populations. 

The second successful population was established in Central Arizona, centering on Grand Canyon National Park. In 2013, on a river rafting trip, I was fortunate to view four California condors soaring above the canyon walls.  

A California condor in flight.

Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Public Domain

A third recovery release site then was established a third population in Northern Baja California. And, more recently, a fourth location was established in Northern California. This release program is a wildlife conservation project of the Yurok Indian Tribe), in cooperation with the the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Program and the  National Park Service . To date 25 condors have been released from the Yurok project and, eventually, these birds could wander north and visit Washington. 

Captive breeding, accomplished with painstaking research and continued monitoring is winning, slowly, in the decades-long work of saving condors from extinction. In 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its annual population status, including reporting that 46 more captive-reared condors were released into the wild. This was the article to prompted that reader’s question.  

At the end of 2025, there were 607 living California condors, 392 were flying wild and another 215 birds remain in captivity.  

And while these numbers are encouraging, there are difficulties, including lead poisoning, that hinder the development of healthy, free-ranging, self-sustaining populations.  

That’s why the recovery program, funded by federal and state budgets plus private donations, will continue the captive breeding and relocation program, and monitoring each bird’s health and life activity.  

Will we eventually see condors flying overhead in Thurston County? It’s possible, but it’s very unlikely to happen in my lifetime. I’m grateful I got to see the ones soaring over the Grand Canyon. 

George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com