California condor flies 380 miles into Oregon, first sighting in state since 1904
California: A California condor flew into Oregon last month before returning several hundred miles to its home in Redwoods National Park, becoming the first condor recorded in the state since 1904.
Taking a closer look, condor conservationists among northern California’s Yurok tribe concluded it was condor B9. The bird was born in captivity and released into the wild in 2022 by the Yurok.
The animal flew a total of 380 miles over 4 days in a loop. It started high in the redwoods, passed Redding in Northern California, then entered Oregon. It made stops near Medford, Cave Junction, and Brookings before recrossing state lines and returning to the national park.
Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams Claussen told Oregon Public Broadcasting that B9 is an especially curious bird.
“She flew almost 100 miles per day,” Williams Claussen said, “which means she was really utilizing the landscape the way that only a condor can, really taking advantage of those mountains and riverways that give good flight corridors.”
California condors are Critically Endangered. From the 1980s, when the last 22 wild birds were captured for a breeding program, to 2016 when more animals were born in the wild than died there, the population had only increased to 276 wild individuals.
