Sally A

Re the tags on their wings, it's fascinating, naturalists climb cliff faces up to condor nests when the parents are out hunting and before the youngsters fledge, and tag them.
These amazing flying creatures were brought back from the brink in 1987 when the last 28 (I think) were captured and a captive recovery program began. The first condors were released about five years later and here we are, in 2019 DirkWill took these great shots in Arizona... :-)

Ichiban365

Scientists are not yet extinct. Scientists who poop on their feet will be soon, because as you say, they have trouble finding a mate, because their feet smell.

Isn't English a wonderful language?

DirkWill Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ha! Thanks one and all for responses and common appreciation for these wonderful creatures!!

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Wow, Those are large, but thinking about now that I know, it would take a more complex system with a transmitter and antenna to track an animal you can't easily get close to like a Condor, Whale, Mountain Lion, etc., not like ID'ing a Dog, Rat, Cat, Pet Horse, etc. by scanning an implanted chip, or reading a leg tag, ear, or other tag by sight.

Sam9987

Great catch. I do believe they are the Ca Condor. As a kid I spent a lot of time in the wild wild west and they were might plentiful. They became an endangered species and you can still see a few out in no mans land in CA and AZ. I have not scene them in Utah or Baja, however, it is not a surprize to me. We use to see a lot of them between Tucson and Wilcox as well as in the hills around Tucson, actually almost anywhere you traveled outside of the towns and cities in the Western states. I am glad that they are making a come back, they are such interesting birds and they keep the desert clean (except for man's mess). Might you be able to download the pictures? I would love to be able to enlarge to pics to see all the fine details.

Sam9987

Thank you for sharing the pictures of these fantastic birds.