California condors will soon be released near Utah-Arizona border. Here’s how to watch them take flight.

In this file photo, Condor #87 gets wet in Pipe Creek along the Tonto Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of National Park Service/M. Quinn, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — If you’ve never had the chance to see condors take flight and want to, you may be in luck.

FILE – In this June 21, 2017, file photo, a California condor takes flight in the Ventana Wilderness east of Big Sur, Calif. Endangered California condors can have “’virgin births,” according to a study released Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. Researchers with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said genetic testing confirmed that two male chicks hatched in 2001 and 2009 from unfertilized eggs were related to their mothers. Neither was related to a male | Associated Press file photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, St. George News

The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day on Sept. 24 by releasing captive-bred California Condors at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) to take their first flights in the wild, according to a press release issued by the National Park Service.

The event will be held in person at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument for anyone interested in traveling to the area, and it will be live streamed via The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel.

The Arizona-Utah California Condor conservation effort is a cooperative program by federal, state and private partners, including The Peregrine Fund, BLM in Utah, BLM’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Kaibab and Dixie National Forests among many other supporting groups and individuals.

This is the 27th year the partnership has marked National Public Lands Day with a public release event at Vermilion Cliffs. In 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team took the celebration online reaching more than 10,000 viewers of the event. Because of that success, the event will be live streamed again, for the third year in a row, in addition to the in-person event.

Brandon Boshell, manager for the BLM’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, said in the news release that they are excited to once again host this annual event.

In this file photo, a California condor flies, location and date unspecified| Photo by Lynn Chamberlain, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News

“The BLM, alongside other state and federal agencies are privileged to work together with The Peregrine Fund in the recovery of this great species,” Boshell said. “We are excited to host this event in-person (on site) as well as virtually so that the scope and reach of this incredible and successful collaborative effort can continue to inspire people around the world.”

Tim Hauck, who serves as director of the Condor Reintroduction Program, said in the news release that they currently have 113 California condors flying the skies of northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

“We’re excited that the population continues to grow and are monitoring several nests with young birds that have hatched in the wild this year,” Hauck said. “Adding these captive-reared birds to the wild flock helps to increase genetic diversity and overall success of the program.”

Because the condor team is unable to predict exactly when the birds will choose to leave their release pen, the live stream event will have a picture-in-picture set up with a camera trained on the release pen and will include videos and interviews with the condor biologists and conservationists who work with these massive birds! Viewers will also be able to ask questions and have them answered live by the condor team.

Stock image | California condor flies against a blue sky | Location and date unspecified | Photo by Lynn Chamberlain, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News

Those who will be attending the event in person will have the opportunity to talk with condor biologists, learn about the birds and their habitat, and enjoy a festival-like atmosphere while waiting for the birds to take their first flight off of the cliff. Details about attending the event in-person are below.

The young condors hatched at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho and several partner organizations, including the Oregon Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park and were transported to Vermilion Cliffs National Monument for release to the wild.

The historical California Condor population declined to just 22 individuals in the 1980s when the greater California Condor Recovery Program was initiated to save the species from extinction.

As of May 2022, there are 113 condors in the wild in the rugged canyon country of northern Arizona and southern Utah and the total world population of endangered California Condors numbers more than 550 individuals, with more than half flying free in Arizona, Utah, California and Mexico.

The live stream begins at 12:30 p.m. MT and can be found at this link.

Information about attending the event in person:

Driving directions: Take Highway 89A from Kanab or Page to the Vermilion Cliffs (from Flagstaff take Highway 89 to Highway 89A). Turn north onto BLM Road 1065 (a dirt road next to the small house just east of the Kaibab Plateau) and continue almost 3 miles. If traveling from Utah, please note the differences between time zones as the event begins at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time).

Bring: Spotting scope or binoculars, sunscreen, hat, ample water, snacks, a chair and layered clothing as the closest facilities to obtain supplies are 40 minutes away from the remote release site.

Details: Informational kiosk, shade structure and restroom at the site. The event will follow the CDC guidelines in place for outdoor gatherings at the time of the event. Find a map at this link.

For more information about this California Condor recovery project, visit this website.

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