Condor that hatched in wild takes first flight (CA)

[Donna]

Oct 30, 2009

HOLLISTER

The first California condor hatched in the Central Coast region in more than 70 years has taken its first flight near Pinnacles National Monument, according to a press release.

Someone first observed the bird perched away from its nest on a cliff on Oct. 17.

"The two places I've seen him he definitely didn't hop to," said Jason Bumann, manager at the RS Bar Guest Ranch where the nest is located.

The ranch is about 12 miles from Pinnacles, one of the recovery sites for the endangered species.

The young condor has been reared by a pair that produced a single egg last spring. Biologists then traded the egg for one produced at the Los Angeles Zoo on April 17, a day before it hatched.

The press release also notes that the parents were each released at different recovery sites, the male at Pinnacles and the female at Big Sur.     

The young condor is a "healthy, growing bird," according to the statement, which notes how condors usually take five and a half to six months before they fly.