BOISE, Idaho — As the season comes to an end, the World Center for Birds of Prey is boasting the successful raising of 14 young California Condors at the facility.
Saving the California Condor is one of the many conservation efforts facilitated at the site as part of The Peregrine Fund.
California Condors typically only lay/raise one egg at a time. This year, the team tried a new technique called "double brooding", where a condor pair raises two nestlings together.
Thanks to a strong nesting season, the birds are more tolerant of the change, including being open to being foster parents to orphaned nestlings.
Earlier this year, the bird flu (highly pathogenic avian influenza- HPAI) wreaked havoc on a flock of Condors in Arizona, killing 21 birds.
Thanks to the Peregrine Fund, a condor egg was retrieved and cared for after its mother became infected and died from HPAI. Though the team had little hope of the egg even hatching, they incubated it, rotated it by hand, and monitored temperature and humidity attempting to mimic being nested.
Lo and behold, the nestling hatched. Once examined and cleared for HPAI, the baby bird was relocated to Boise. The young bird and its rescue is referred to as the miracle nestling, as not only did it survive being birthed through human intervention, it has been accepted by its adopted Condor parents.
The California Condor, North America's largest bird, was placed on the endangered species list in 1967. In December 2022, the population has been reported as totaling 537, two-thirds of which are living in the wild.
By controlling risks like predators, accidents, and food contamination, The Peregrine Fund consistently achieves success rates [of survival and breeding] above 90 percent.
More than half of all California Condors raised in breeding programs, 16–20 young each year, come from the facility in Boise and are divided among several release sites, including helping to replenish the population devastated by HPAI in Arizona.
