LOS PADRES FOREST : 9 Condors in Wild Stay Close to Roost

All nine California condors in the wild are staying close to the remote Santa Barbara County cliff where they were released last month, avoiding the hazards of civilization that killed four of their cousins in 1992 and 1993.

Four older birds in the group that were transferred to the Lion Canyon site from the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in Ventura County have not ventured farther than a mile from the new roost, said Marc M. Weitzel, project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Condor Recovery Program.

And the five younger birds have not flown farther than half a mile.

Biologists had feared that the older birds would take off by themselves or eventually lead the younger birds on a trek back to their old home in the Sespe sanctuary.

“So far, the strategy is working,” Weitzel said. “They are all roosting as a unit. The older birds have flown off for a while, but they come back.”

Weitzel said biologists are feeding the condors calf carcasses near the release site to encourage them to stay close. The older birds may also stay close because of the presence of the younger birds, who cannot yet fly long distances, Weitzel said.

“Only time will tell” whether they will stay close, he said.

Five young birds that had never before flown in the wild and one of the Sespe birds were released in Lion Canyon on Dec. 7. To prevent the older birds from forming a group and heading home to the Sespe, releases of the other three were staggered over the next three weeks. The last bird was released Dec. 29.

Biologists chose the remote Lion Canyon area in Los Padres National Forest in hopes that the birds will stay away from civilization.

The first two were released into the wild in January, 1991, at the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. In December, 1992, six more birds were released.

Between October, 1992, and November, 1993, four of the birds had been killed through collisions with power lines or poles or by poisoning from antifreeze.

The release effort is the key to a $15-million plan to bring the giant vultures back from the brink of extinction. The next group of zoo-bred birds is scheduled to be released in December.