There is a woman down the road about a mile or so who has grown up in these mountains and whom I believe to be an accurate observer of wildlife. She called and asked me to keep my camera ready (she knows I like photography). The reason----she is sure she saw a condor cruising through the canyon. I hope her (and my) observations are correct.
In the meantime, I contacted my BIL in Colorado who is a former park service worker, and now a licensed consultant who prepares plans for environmental rehabilitation of mining sites in Colorado. What follows below is a copy of his email to me. Mark is way out in the wild every chance he gets, and is an expert photographer. I have attached a copy of HIS photo of a young Condor.
Attached is one of my photos of a condor taken on Oct 1, 2008, along
the Angel's Landing trail in Zion National Park. Feel free to share it.
This bird is number 296 out of 321 birds in existence, including
captives. It is a female hatched on April 10, 2003 and released on March
20, 2004 at the Vermillion Cliffs release site which is near Lee's Ferry
in northern Arizona. Her wing flap code patch is -6. She is doing well
in the wild, according to the Peregrine Fund (www.peregrinefund.org). If
you go to this web site and look under conservation projects you can
find the information on the condor recovery program as well as
information on all of the condors.
As for seeing a condor in the Jemez Springs area, that would not be
unlikely but is pretty far out of where the Arizona condors normally
range. That said, they do wander a great deal and have been seen in New
Mexico as well as western Colorado. A few years ago a couple of young
condors were hanging out at Land's End on Grand Mesa east of Grand
Junction. A few days later they were again spotted back at the Grand
Canyon where they usually live. So, you can see they can wander a long
ways. If you do spot a condor try to see if there is a tag flap on the
top of the wings. It is black but will have a white number on it. With
that code you can go to the Peregrine Fund and find out something about
the bird's history. Also, if one is seen and confirmed that it is a
condor or even if there is a good suspicion, it should be reported to
the Peregrine Fund. See their website for details. Condors ranged all
over the country until lead shot and some other factors devastated them.
So, historically there were probably a lot of condors in New Mexico and
I suspect your canyon would be pretty high on the list as potential
habitats. It is pretty much the kind of place they like. Whether they
would find it and adopt it is another matter. Fundamentally, the Jemez
River Canyon has a lot of the same physical characteristics as Zion,
Kolob and other canyons in southern Utah and northern Arizona where the
condors seem to be settling in small numbers and with your good wildlife
as well as ranch land food sources they would likely find plenty to eat.
I would think some of the cliffs in the lower canyon might have some
good nest sites. Goodness knows, there are plenty of holes in parts of
the volcanic ash deposits for them to crawl into.
The best place to see them is on the south rim of the Grand Canyon
near Grand Canyon Village. There are often a half dozen or so that hang
out there. These birds have an insatiable curiosity and seem to enjoy
the company of people. Unfortunately, they tend to be a bit too curious
about people and often end up being harassed. There is a hazing program
on going to try and get them to be less willing to approach people.
Condors, unlike Turkey Vultures, find their food by sight. Turkey
Vultures use smell. Condors have incredible eyesight and can spot a
suspicious looking dead animal from a rather great height. Their
curiosity takes it from there. They mostly feed on larger animals, but
the fact that they feed on other birds has been their downfall. If the
bird was shot it may have lead shot in it and that is consumed by the
condor and the lead eventually poisons the condor. The move away from
lead shot seems to have helped the condor recovery effort.
In the meantime, I contacted my BIL in Colorado who is a former park service worker, and now a licensed consultant who prepares plans for environmental rehabilitation of mining sites in Colorado. What follows below is a copy of his email to me. Mark is way out in the wild every chance he gets, and is an expert photographer. I have attached a copy of HIS photo of a young Condor.
Attached is one of my photos of a condor taken on Oct 1, 2008, along
the Angel's Landing trail in Zion National Park. Feel free to share it.
This bird is number 296 out of 321 birds in existence, including
captives. It is a female hatched on April 10, 2003 and released on March
20, 2004 at the Vermillion Cliffs release site which is near Lee's Ferry
in northern Arizona. Her wing flap code patch is -6. She is doing well
in the wild, according to the Peregrine Fund (www.peregrinefund.org). If
you go to this web site and look under conservation projects you can
find the information on the condor recovery program as well as
information on all of the condors.
As for seeing a condor in the Jemez Springs area, that would not be
unlikely but is pretty far out of where the Arizona condors normally
range. That said, they do wander a great deal and have been seen in New
Mexico as well as western Colorado. A few years ago a couple of young
condors were hanging out at Land's End on Grand Mesa east of Grand
Junction. A few days later they were again spotted back at the Grand
Canyon where they usually live. So, you can see they can wander a long
ways. If you do spot a condor try to see if there is a tag flap on the
top of the wings. It is black but will have a white number on it. With
that code you can go to the Peregrine Fund and find out something about
the bird's history. Also, if one is seen and confirmed that it is a
condor or even if there is a good suspicion, it should be reported to
the Peregrine Fund. See their website for details. Condors ranged all
over the country until lead shot and some other factors devastated them.
So, historically there were probably a lot of condors in New Mexico and
I suspect your canyon would be pretty high on the list as potential
habitats. It is pretty much the kind of place they like. Whether they
would find it and adopt it is another matter. Fundamentally, the Jemez
River Canyon has a lot of the same physical characteristics as Zion,
Kolob and other canyons in southern Utah and northern Arizona where the
condors seem to be settling in small numbers and with your good wildlife
as well as ranch land food sources they would likely find plenty to eat.
I would think some of the cliffs in the lower canyon might have some
good nest sites. Goodness knows, there are plenty of holes in parts of
the volcanic ash deposits for them to crawl into.
The best place to see them is on the south rim of the Grand Canyon
near Grand Canyon Village. There are often a half dozen or so that hang
out there. These birds have an insatiable curiosity and seem to enjoy
the company of people. Unfortunately, they tend to be a bit too curious
about people and often end up being harassed. There is a hazing program
on going to try and get them to be less willing to approach people.
Condors, unlike Turkey Vultures, find their food by sight. Turkey
Vultures use smell. Condors have incredible eyesight and can spot a
suspicious looking dead animal from a rather great height. Their
curiosity takes it from there. They mostly feed on larger animals, but
the fact that they feed on other birds has been their downfall. If the
bird was shot it may have lead shot in it and that is consumed by the
condor and the lead eventually poisons the condor. The move away from
lead shot seems to have helped the condor recovery effort.
