On a recent road trip up California Coast Hwy 1 we stopped to check out McWay Falls, which is a spectacular 80 foot waterfall that empties right onto the beach. On our walk back to the car, we spotted a large bird flying around. At first I thought it was just another Turkey Vulture which are found up and down the coast, but this one looked larger. We kept watching it and soon recognized the large red head and tracking tags to be that of the rare California Condor. In fact, this day we were fortunate enough to spot four of them hopping from tree to tree.
In 1987 the California Condor was declared extinct in the wild when all 22 remaining birds were collected to begin a captive breeding program. There are now over 400 Condors in three states-California, Arizona, and Utah. There are even some in Baja California, Mexico. The California Condor is the largest land based bird in North America with a wingspan up to 10 feet and weighing up to 26 lbs.
It was great to see and be able to photograph such a great bird. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. To see more pics, CLICK HERE.