A pair of free-flying condors were believed to have built the first nest in the large scavengers’ ancestral territory in more than 100 years, and may have been incubating their first egg.
Known for their nearly 10-foot wingspans and dark plumage, condors are a sacred cultural and spiritual symbol for the Tribe, where they are known as “Prey-go-neesh.”
"We were really hopeful"
The egg was believed to have been laid by a seven-year-old female condor designated A0 and named Ney-gem' ‘Ne-chween-kah, or “She carries our prayers” in the Yurok language. She took to the skies of Northern California in 2022 as part of the first cohort of condors released by the Yurok Tribe.
Researchers say after being released A0 had been spending more time with a member of the same cohort, the seven-year-old male A1 (Hlow Hoo-let, “At last we fly!”). Yurok researchers said the pair had been conducting a “nest searching” pattern for months, and believe the condors’ nest was in an old-growth redwood within Redwood National and State Parks.
Due to the isolated location researchers had to monitor the condors’ behavior, including from wing transmitters and field observations, to gain insight into the potential parents.
“Obviously we were very excited about the potential for a viable egg, and a new chick,” said Tiana Williams-Claussen, the director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. She said the large birds were doing “what condors should do” where one parent would be incubating the egg while the other took care of its own needs, before switching.
Williams-Claussen said one of the first signs of a potential nest failure was when both A0 and A1 started showing up at a “joint feeding event” at a critical time.
“If the egg had been laid around early February, which is what we’ve been thinking, it would have hatched around early April,” she explained. “But the chick all needs full-time parental care for about a month afterward.”
“When that stopped we’re like, ‘this is probably unlikely to have happened at this point,’” Williams-Claussen said.
In a release, researchers said there are multiple reasons behind the potential failure from an infertile egg to inadequate incubation, to hatching failure. “Even a few minutes can lead to the egg getting too chilled and not making it,” Williams-Claussen said.
She added that as new parents the pair of condors maybe were not “quite confident in what they were doing, and didn’t give it as much care in those first few days.”
Biologists said data on the nest is not conclusive yet due to the nest’s inaccessibility, and will continue observing A0 and A1’s behavior for future confirmation. Williams-Claussen also acknowledged that the first egg or two a condor pair produces are often not viable.
"We were really hopeful, but not holding our breath,” she said. “They’re not quite sure what they’re doing; they’re learning as they go along and it just often doesn’t work out.”
A potential second attempt
Despite this possible failure, the Yurok team said it is not too late for A0 and A1 to try again this year. “They are still within the range of egg-laying, and chicks can hatch as late as mid-June,” Williams-Claussen said.
She said biologists will look for signs of the condors going back into the nesting exchange pattern — one condor incubating, the other not — which could be a sign of the two trying for another egg.
The Yurok team says condors reproduce slowly, with females only laying one egg at a time and usually nesting every other year. They also tend to stay bonded with their mates for successive years, if possible.
Williams-Claussen said it could be a matter of the big scavengers learning on the fly, and that second attempts are usually more successful. “As a condor continues in their experience, they continue to grow better in protecting or nurturing that egg,” she said.
While A0 and A1 are the oldest birds released, Williams-Claussen said there are some younger ones also starting to display mating behavior. “[They’re] trying to get a foot in the door and catch the female’s interest,” she said, adding that the other female condors under their care are not quite old enough yet.
Williams-Claussen said condor A2 (Nes-kwe-chokw, “He returns”) was recently displaying to female A7 (Hey-we-chek', “I am healthy”) and she “did not immediately reject him.”
“She's too young to be actually forming a pair bond for mating, but it's clear that she's getting to an age where she's starting to think about it,” she explained.
“We may be looking at next year, another bond forming, and even if they don’t try and lay, they’ll be looking for that nest.”
There are currently 23 condors flying free over the North State after the first group was released almost four years ago. The Northern California Condor Restoration Program says it plans to continue releasing at least one cohort of birds annually for 20 years.