A California condor stretches its wings. If you arrive at the viewing site early in the morning, you should get a close look at the birds. (DWR photo/Lynn Chamberlain)
Saturday, July 14, the Division of Wildlife Resources will host its annual California condor viewing event. Dubbed "The Day of the Condor," the free event runs from 8:00AM to Noon at a spot on the Kolob Reservoir Road two miles south of the reservoir. The viewing site is 21 miles north of Virgin in southwestern Utah.
Keith Day, wildlife biologist for the DWR said, "To give yourself the best chance to see the greatest number of birds get to the viewing site as early as possible." Those who have attended the event in past years have been thrilled to watch condors soar in the sky above them.
To reach the viewing site, take state Route 9 to Virgin. Then turn north at the Kolob Reservoir turnoff in Virgin, and travel through Zion National Park. The viewing site is 21 miles from Virgin near Kolob Reservoir.
After you've traveled 21 miles, look for DWR staff directing cars into a parking area on the south side of the road.
Biologists from the DWR, the National Park Service and The Peregrine Fund will be available to answer your questions. Free information about condors will also be available.
Day said condor activity in Utah has increased dramatically since 2005. "During the summer months, it's not unusual for more than 30 birds to be in Utah. And some condors stay through the winter," he says. "In the past, more than 60 condors have been tracked in the Zion National Park area during a single day."
When you consider how rare California condors are, seeing that many condors in southern Utah is exciting. "The world's California condor population numbers 414 birds," Day said. "More than half of those birds are free flying. And about one third of the free-flying birds are found in Utah and Arizona.
"That means on any given day," he said, "nearly one quarter of the world's wild California condor population could be right here in southern Utah."
The California condor is the largest flying bird in the Northern Hemisphere. It's about four to five feet long from head to tail. That makes the bird impressive to see, even when it isn't flying. But, with a wingspan of about 9 feet, and weighing between 16 and 23 pounds, condors are especially impressive in flight.
Adults are a dull black with white coloring under their wings. Their bald heads are covered with yellow, orange and red skin.
Young condors have a black head and don't have white under their wings like the adults do. But they're about the same size as the adults. On the ground or in the air, the young condors are just as impressive to see as the adults are.
Condors usually reach maturity when they're six to seven years old. When they reach that age, they choose a mate. They usually remain with that mate for the rest of their life.
Condors lay a single egg on the floor of a small cave or crevice on the side of a cliff. Both parents help incubate the egg. It takes about 56 days for the egg to hatch.
After the egg hatches, the young condor will remain near its nest for about two to three months. It won't fledge (take its first flight) until it's five or six months old.
The young condor's parents will take care of it for a full year, and sometimes even longer. Because of their devotion to their young, condors don't nest every year. Instead, they nest every two years.
Here's a video preview of the type of bird you'll see at this year's event.
For more information, go to Day of Condor, or call (435) 865-6100.
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