Alta Elementary School
On July 23, right after loading Leslie & Rosemary's report on California Condors, I took off for the Sierra Nevada for the weekend. My daughters and I traveled Highway 68 through the foothills. Part way up, Carol called my attention to some vultures that were nearby, one on the telephone wires, another close by, and a third that swooped directly overhead about thirty feet or less.
It was the third that caught our eyes with its incredibly massive wing span and markings. The twisting road demanded my attention and didn't offer an easy chance to stop. Carol continued to comment on the size and under colors of the bird, and we both were almost certain that we had seen a California Condor in the wild. I didn't get to look closely at the others, and they weren't in full flight over my windshield. I have seen vultures flying in the foothills many times and occasionally as close as this, but never do I recall that large a wing span which seemed more like 9 feet than 6.
Later as we discussed it yet again, I said how sad I was that I didn't find a place to stop on the road. Carol remarked, "I don't know, that bird was so large it scared me!" She was still quite confident about the white undermarkings. I still wish I had stopped and made absolutely sure of what raptor we had seen and whether the other two were as large or another species of vulture.
Next time I head to the Sierra Nevada, I think I will remember to bring my binoculars and telephoto lens. Chances of seeing the condor again may or may not be likely, but I doubt it will be that close if such a chance occurs.
We head for the mountains nearly every weekend. Earlier in the summer we spied a tree with 4 or 5 Great Blue Heron nests that had several herons (adults and young) at the time. Each time we passed there were fewer and fewer herons, but we keep a lookout for the tree and know that next year we should see them there again. So perhaps I'll be fortunate enough again to see this condor at close range.
I hesitate to say I truly saw a wild condor with absolute certainty. Talking around a campfire with friends, one shared a fun story when their family "saw" a condor which are released near where they live. They all stopped and watched, and watched, and as the large bird drew closer, it wound up being a hang glider!
Cheryl Vitali
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Updated 7/23//98