Big Sur: Watch for endangered California condors Sept. 13 on coastal tour

Among the 130 threatened or endangered wild-animal species in our state is the California condor.  The largest flying bird in North America, it can be found in areas from Big Sur on down to Southern California’s Sespe Wilderness, as well as in the Grand Canyon, according to the Ventana Wildlife Society.

This nonprofit group, which works to conserve various native animals and their habitats, conducts viewing tours of the birds in Big Sur on the second Sunday of every month, and the next one is this Sunday, Sept.. 13. On these tours, you have a very good chance of seeing one or more condors, organizers say, and are virtually guaranteed to learn at least a little something along the way.

Starting at the organization’s “bird-banding lab” in Andrew Molera State Park, the two-hour tour is by caravan, in participants’ own vehicles. Driving along the coast, tour-goers stop at pullouts in areas frequented by condors, while the guide presents information regarding condor biology, the Big Sur birds individually and as a whole, and the organization’s condor restoration program.

The guide can determine whether birds are close by, thanks to radio telemetry equipment. Tour participants get the chance to try out the equipment too, and they can even help collect data when condors are spotted.

“Our tours are successful in viewing condors 95% of the time, although they are wild animals and we can never guarantee sightings,” said Alena Porte, the Ventana Wildlife Society’s education coordinator.

“There are 40 or so birds in the Central Coast flock, so I would say it is possible to see a party of 10 or more on a good day,” she said.

Advance registration is required, and the cost is $50 per person. Other, more-involved tours are also available; see the organization’s website for details.

Contact: Ventana Wildlife Society, (831) 455-9514

— Susan Derby, special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: A California condor in flight. Credit: Courtesy of Ventana Wildlife Society]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 1:21 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Big Sur, Business Travel, California, California's Central Coast, Eco-Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.