California condor population suffers worst year in decades after deadly wildfire

Cheri Carlson
Ventura County Star

The past year was one of the deadliest for condors since efforts began to save the critically endangered bird.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported 42 condor deaths in 2020, including 34 in California. That's nearly triple the dozen deaths recorded in the state a year earlier. 

Lead poisoning remained the leading cause of death, but the Dolan Fire in Central California took a close second. 

Condor chick #1095 stands inside a nest in redwood tree in the Big Sur area.

Officials believe 10 condors and two chicks died in the blaze, which broke out Aug. 18 about a mile south of the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary in Monterey County. Flames swept through the canyon in the middle of the night when the birds were roosting and unlikely to fly.

“We hope that it is more of an anomalous type thing,” said Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, which manages the Big Sur condor population. “But the Dolan Fire losses coupled with the ongoing lead poisoning problem made 2020 the worst on record.”

Agencies have worked for decades to help the species recover. The largest land bird in North America known for its bald heads and black feathers had all but disappeared in the wild by the early 1980s. 

The population had dropped to just 22 birds in the wild in 1982.

Related coverage:Here's what we know about endangered California condors missing, dead in 2020 wildfire

Lead poisoning the biggest threat

After intensive recovery efforts, including a captive-breeding program, 329 condors lived in the wild by the end of 2020. An additional 175 lived in captivity.

Of those in the wild, California's population totaled 186, half in the Southern California flock, which includes the backcountry of Ventura County, and half in Central California.

Nearly 10% of the Central California population died in the Dolan Fire last year.

Wildlife officials said two dozen condors were in the Big Sur Sanctuary the night of the fire. 

'They hung on':Local scientists discover rare frog breeding in Santa Monicas

A condor flies near a burned area by Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge located in Ventura County.

Flames had yet to crest the canyon before dark, and the birds appeared to roost in the familiar, typically safe spot even though flames were close. Nine died that night. One was found with burn injuries and later died, Sorenson said.

They ranged in age from 1 to 23, some either just reaching breeding age or already having chicks.

Of the additional two dozen deaths in the state last year, about half were attributed to lead poisoning.

The biggest threat to the condors, lead poisoning accounts for around half of all known causes of deaths in condors, which feed on carcasses containing bullet fragments, wildlife officials said.

Chick season off to a better start

Whether the condor population will rebound in 2021 is too soon to say, said Steve Kirkland, California condor field coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

So far, however, chick season appeared to be off to a better start.

Last year, just six chicks fledged from nests in California. This year, the state has 10 to 12 active nests with chicks expected to fledge around September, he said.

Condors continue to expand their range and recolonize historical habitat in California, according to Kirkland. They reproduce on their own in the wild, successfully raise chicks, and those young condors fledge and later have reproduced with other wild-born condors.

But for now, wildlife officials said they rely on the release of captive-bred birds to grow the population. 

That likely will keep happening until alternative forms of ammunition is used to hunt wildlife, according to Sorenson.

“The problem is they keep finding lead, swallowing these spent lead bullets, and are dying from that,” he said. "We still have a long way to go."

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.