#49 Page 6

North America's Largest Flying Bird - The California Condor

      California Condor sightings were first reported by European explorers on the West Coast of

California and the Baja peninsula.  There were lots of them flying around North America, feeding

on ground sloths, saber-tooth tigers, camels and mastodons. When these animals became extinct, and

the European colonization accelerated, the Condor declined in numbers. The last reliable sighting was in Mexico  in 1937 in the peaks of the San Pedro Martir  mountains in Baja California.         I

      Today, thanks to the California Condor Recovery Program, North America's largest flying bird, once slated for extinction, is making a comeback. The California Condor Recovery Program, was formed in 1987 and is implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the Zoological Society of San Diego. Its captive breeding program involves the San Diego Zoo, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Oregon Zoo. Mexican partners include the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia, and the Comisión Nacional  de Áreas Naturales Protegidas among others. At the time there were only twenty two remaining condors known to exist in the wild. The plan called for capturing them and creating breeding pairs that could be released back into their natural habitat. Condor pairs were released in California in 1992. Other pairs were released in Arizona in 1996. In 2002 six Condors were brought to the San Pedro de Martir National Park. This site was chosen because it is a pristine, protected area of the condor's former range and could serve as a link between the U.S. populations of Condors in California and Arizona.

      Recently, an announcement in Wildlife News read, First Condor egg laid in Baja California for 70 years.   "The occurrence of the first nest and the first egg confirms that the reintroduction of the California Condor in Mexico is a story of success," said Lic. Adrián Fernández Bremauntz, president of Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Ecologia. "This is an excellent example of how fruitful collaboration between Mexico and the United States can be when we pool efforts and objectives for the conservation of our shared species."

     A 7-year old female and a 6-year old male are the proud  parents of the discovered egg.  They were introduced as juveniles and have only recently entered breeding age. "We had been suspicious of  their nesting activity over the past month," said Lic.Fernández. "The nest is situated in a deserted golden eagle nest. They made an excellent and spectacular choice."  The egg was examined through the "candling process". It appears to be fertile with a dark interior and a large air cell. Since the parents are very attentive to the egg, biologists are hopeful it  will hatch at the end of the normal 57 day incubation period.

     Today, approximately 128 condors are flying free in the skies above parts of California, Arizona and Mexico. The total world population of 279 birds includes those at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Oregon Zoo.

                          Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park

        Those who picture the Baja peninsula as an inhospitable desert would be surprised to discover the                                  highest part of the peninsula is covered by conifer forests. In the winter there's snow  and in the summer meadows are laden with flowers. The Sierra de San Pedro Mártiir National Park, located in the northern part of the peninsula, is an island of rugged forested ridges and broad meadows.  It stands high above the coastal slopes to the west and drops sharply to the San Felipe desert to the east. Mexico incorporated the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir mountain range into the National Park system in 1947. Work is now underway for it to be designated as part of the International Biosphere Preserve system.

     Hiking trails in the Park lead to Blue Bottle, a 9,500 foot rise or to Picacho del Diablo at 10,153 feet, the highest point on the Baja peninsula. Adventurers who arrive at the top will find ranches and beautiful isolated camp sites surrounded by giant old growth Jeffrey and Lodge-pole pines, along with expansive groves of Quaking Aspens.    

    The climate is similar to that of the mountains of southern California. Precipitation comes from winter storms born in the Gulf of Alaska, and occasional summer monsoon storms originating in the tropics. During the wet years the meadows become a botanist's paradise....sometimes white with Meling's Linanthus and other times pink with Ipomopsis interspersed with a variety of less abundant colorful species.

     The Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park is a good example of a "Sky Island". The species which inhabit this mountain range have been separated from their related species that live in adjacent high-elevation areas by their inability to cross the intervening hotter, drier low-elevation desert lands. This physical isolation has permitted genetic drift among several local plant and animal populations, producing variations (or endemics) found only in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir.

     Probably the best example among the fauna of Sierra de San Pedro Mártir is the Nelson's rainbow trout, a species tolerant of warm water and native to a few permanent pools and west flowing streams. Other endemic animals include 20 subspecies of birds along with 5 species and 8 subspecies of mammals. The California Condor Recovery Program has also located several pair of mated Condors in Sierra San de Pedro Mártir national Park. A Condor egg was laid in the Park recently. It was the first Condor egg found in Baja California since 1937.

     One of the prominent features of the Park is the National Observatory, located a 9,000 foot ridge overlooking the San Felipe Desert. The facility consists of a world-class 82-inch reflecting telescope, along with several smaller units. Astronomers from around the world come here to take advantage of the excellent conditions where light and atmospheric pollution is minimal. This site will be involved in the "Celebrate the Stares 2010" event sponsored by INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) as part of the 200th anniversary of Independence from Spain and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. The event will also honor Mexico's important role in creating the Carta de Cielo (sky chart) in the late 19th century.