California Condor @ The Pinnacles
In my last blog about hiking at Pinnacles National Park this weekend I wrote about the signature experience - climbing the footholds blasted into the rock. It's one we enjoy on many of our trips there. This trip we found a new signature experience in addition to that.
One of the reasons the Pinnacles was upgraded from national monument status to the vaunted national park designation several years ago is that it's a habitat for the rare and endangered California Condor. Once near the brink of extinction, with only 27 individual birds surviving, all in captivity, there are now over 500 of the species alive, many reintroduced to the wild in California's Centra Coast region.
So, as you might have guessed, after all that climbing and crouching through tight spaces, we came out atop the High Peaks Loop and saw a California Condor sunning itself atop a large rock.
Condors are huge birds. Adults can grow to about 4' (120cm) tall with wingspans of anywhere from 8-10' (2.5 - 3.0m). This bird, which I dub "Mateo" (can you guess why?), didn't seem quite that big. Mateo might be a juvenile.
Here's some video I shot of Mateo preening himself.
We've seen California Condors once or twice before in zoos. This was our first sighting in the wild. What a special way to cap a fun hike at The Pinnacles!
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/227017.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
One of the reasons the Pinnacles was upgraded from national monument status to the vaunted national park designation several years ago is that it's a habitat for the rare and endangered California Condor. Once near the brink of extinction, with only 27 individual birds surviving, all in captivity, there are now over 500 of the species alive, many reintroduced to the wild in California's Centra Coast region.
So, as you might have guessed, after all that climbing and crouching through tight spaces, we came out atop the High Peaks Loop and saw a California Condor sunning itself atop a large rock.
Condors are huge birds. Adults can grow to about 4' (120cm) tall with wingspans of anywhere from 8-10' (2.5 - 3.0m). This bird, which I dub "Mateo" (can you guess why?), didn't seem quite that big. Mateo might be a juvenile.
Here's some video I shot of Mateo preening himself.
Click to viewWe've seen California Condors once or twice before in zoos. This was our first sighting in the wild. What a special way to cap a fun hike at The Pinnacles!
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/227017.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]