News From Condor Country, continued from Diana Miller, Day 5 Were still in Page Az. The morning greeted us with menacing clouds to the west. Our spirits could not dampened however as we loaded up and headed for the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument to participate in a monumental event. The release of three young condors to the wild. We arrived at the release site to quite a celebration. About 100 folks and even more spotting scopes were on hand to witness the event. The young condors were brought to the site a few weeks ago. Theyve been living in a large outdoor enclosure on the top of the cliffs acclimating to their new home. With a spotting scope we could see the enclosure. One already free condor was hanging about, as if waiting for the three anxious kids to join him in the sky. Back on the ground the crowd was just as anxious. After a flag ceremony by the local Boy Scout Troop and a few speeches, all eyes were directed to the cliff top through scopes and binoculars. Then the scouts gave us a countdown 3....2...1! The door on the enclosure opened and within seconds the first two kids were out the door and into the wind. WOOOOOHOOOO! The third fellow was a little more cautious, but he to soon joined the others in the air. They rapidly disappeared into the horizon. Most folks kept scanning the skies, and just before the rain arrived we were treated to the joyous first soars of the trio over the Vermilion Cliffs. Okay, mine werent the only moist eyes in that crowd! On our way back to Page it was all smiles in the vans and we seemed to be a few steps ahead of the rain. Along our route to Page was Navajo Bridge. Its a favorite roosting location for the condors, so of course we had to stop. No condors on the bridge when we arrived, but the view of the Colorado River, canyon and Vermilion Cliffs was spectacular. The rain was catching up to us, so we headed for the vans. Just as we stepped off the foot bridge, the cry came out: CONDOR! Yup, one of the those big handsome fellows had come across the canyon and was looking for a ledge to wait out the rain. We got a great look at #54 through the spotting scope and shared the view with a few other fellow birders on the bridge. 5 condors in one day! Our total sightings of condors: 9. Tomorrow: rafting the canyon and on to Zion! How many condors will we see tomorrow? Cant wait to find out!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 04:24:23 +0000
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