November 11, 2005
Condor Update 9 November 2005
Grand Canyon Interpretive Ranger Marker Marshall has forwarded to us the following three separate messages about Condors as of 9 November 2005.
The first is from the latest "Notes from the Field" entry by Thom Lord at www.peregrinefund.org, with news about Grand Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs, and specifically about #350, the fledge from Hopi Point (Battleship Rock).
The second is from Kathy Sullivan, with AZ Game and Fish Department, and provides updates on California birds and also the non-lead amunition program in AZ.
The third item, by Marker Marshall, has additional summary information on Condor populations, both wild and captive, and more on lead ammunition.
First Item:
From Thom Lord's October 2005 "Notes from the Field"
"...we tagged and placed transmitters on three new birds (Condors 329, 343, and 346) for release. On 12 October, these three, along with two birds [282 & 302--MM] that had been held temporarily in captivity, joined Arizona's free-flying population. The new releases seemed to take quite well to their newfound freedom, integrating nearly seamlessly with the existing flock. This release brought the wild population in Arizona up to 60 birds, including this year's two nestlings.
This year's nestlings were the next source of great news in October, with crewmember Vincent Frary making the difficult 24-mile round-trip hike into the Grand Canyon in an attempt to observe the chick there. To everyone's delight, Vince was able to see the chick, now Condor 392, and described it as appearing active and healthy. The other chick, Condor 389, was seen numerous times throughout the month, and also appears to be developing normally. It is possible that at least one chick will have fledged by the time I write the next Notes from the Field, but both should have fledged by the end of December.
Near the end of October, we were finally able to accomplish something that we had set our sights on nearly one year earlier. On 24 October, Vince confirmed that Condor 350, the untagged wild-fledged juvenile from Battleship Rock, had arrived at the release site. As the bird had established a regular pattern of returning to the release site to feed, and was still untagged going into our most crucial time of the year (hunting season), we decided to attempt to trap it. We set up to trap that night, and caught Condor 350 the next morning. Crewmember Frank Nebenburgh and I tagged, took blood for lead testing and DNA analysis, and vaccinated the bird for West Nile Virus, and released it again that evening. Condor 350 roosted at the release site that night, and stayed through the end of the month, feeding and interacting with the rest of the flock. We all breathed a sigh of relief when Condor 350 was finally tagged, as we will now be able to use radio-telemetry and GPS data to track that bird's movements as we track the rest of the flock. Although it was awe-inspiring to have an untagged wild bird in our free-flying population, the information we gain by being able to track each of the condors is invaluable. And, if things go as we expect, we should have two more untagged free-flying birds in the population very soon . . . "
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Note that tag numbers are now in great demand as more and more birds are out there! So Condor 329 is tagged 29, but Condor 343 is A3 (since 243 has Tag 43 locked up); Condor 346 is A6 (since 246 has Tag 46) and last year's Battleship chick, Condor 350, is -0 since 250 is already tagged 50. --MM
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Second Item:
Courtesy Kathy Sullivan of the Arizona Game & Fish Department:
"News from California"
Seven juvenile captive-reared condors were released at Pinnacles National Monument during the month of September. All seem to be doing well in their new habitat.
Two condors died in California this September. The carcass of Condor AC-2 was recovered from Bittercreek NWR on September 27th. AC-2 was one of the original condors captured from the wild back in 1986. He served as a breeder in the captive flock for 19 years and was released back to the wild in June 2005, after he stopped producing chicks in captivity. Biologists hoped that AC-2 would return to his historical roosting areas, which he did. It was anticipated that this bird would encourage the captive-reared release birds to expand their range. The death of AC-2 was a significant symbolic loss for the condor reintroduction program. Unfortunately, the carcass was heavily scavenged, and the cause of death is undetermined at this time.
The carcass of an eight-year-old male condor was recovered from the Hopper Mountain NWR on September 30th. This bird had been missing since September 5th. This was a breeding-age bird, so its death was a considerable loss to the California project. As in the previous case, the carcass was heavily scavenged, and the cause of death is unknown at this time.
Voluntary Lead Reduction Efforts
As of 31 October, approximately 60% of the 2,393 hunters drawn for rifle hunts in AZ Units 12A/B had redeemed their coupons for free non-lead ammunition. After spending opening day on the Kaibab, I also learned that several hunters who did not redeem their coupons due to incompatible calibers purchased non-lead ammunition on their own!
The free non-lead ammunition program ends 15 November 2005. Deer rifle hunts continue throughout the month of November. Let's hope the voluntary conservation efforts of these hunters make a significant difference this year.
Within the next month I will be mailing out post-hunt surveys to determine how we may be able to improve our voluntary non-lead ammunition program in the future. The survey will determine the reasons why some hunters did not redeem their free non-lead ammunition coupons, as well as how the non-lead ammo performed for those hunters who did redeem their coupons. Results should be available later this winter.
Condor Movements
In October, condors were observed at the Vermilion Cliffs release site, the Kolob Canyon area in Utah, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the North Kaibab Forest, and Navajo Bridge. The birds will likely increase their use of the North Kaibab Forest in November, and many of the Kolob Canyon birds are apt to return to the release site with the first major snowfall. The later is especially important since these birds need to be trapped and tested for lead exposure."
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Third Item:
Courtesy Marker Marshall, Ranger, GCNP.
Nov 1 2005 Condor Population Highlights: World Total is at 274; Arizona's total is 60 (of whom 3 are on "time out" and two are wild chicks that have not yet fledged, leaving 55 free-flying). In addition, there are five never-released condors still in the flight pen at Vermilion Cliffs.
Here is a link to an article on lead v. non-lead ammunition in the P-Fund Research Library, but soon to be published in peer-reviewed Wildlife Society Bulletin. Bullet Fragments in Deer Remains:Implications for Lead Exposure in Avian Scavengers. Check out the chart on page 9 and the x-ray on page 10 if you want convincing evidence for switching away from lead bullets!