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Under normal circumstances, a person would welcome the opportunity to closely observe a group of California condors, North America’s largest flying land birds, which made a miraculous recovery after nearly becoming extinct in the 1980s. But over the weekend, more than a dozen of the majestic birds descended on a woman’s home and “absolutely trashed her deck,” according to a tweet from the woman’s daughter, Twitter user Seana Lyn. “They still haven’t left,” Seana Lyn tweeted Tuesday. “It sucks but also this is unheard of, there’s only 160 of these birds flying free in the state and a flock of...

Nestling 1078 hatched on April 12th according to the National Park ServiceA rare California condor egg has hatched in Pinnacles National Park. According to the National Park service, parents of the nestling are condors 589 (managed by Pinnacles) and 569 (managed by Ventana Wildlife Society). Advertisement The park says the eggs hatched on April 12. On a social media post Pinnacles National Park says the two parents have been a pair for about five years now and this is their third offspring. The park says 1,078 still must survive six more months in the nest relying on its parents completely...

The Andean condor has a wingspan stretching to 10 feet and weighs up to 33 pounds, making it the heaviest soaring bird alive today. For the first time, a team of scientists strapped recording equipment they called “daily diaries” to eight condors in Patagonia to record each wingbeat over more than 250 hours of flight time. ... One bird flew more than five hours, covering more than 100 miles (160 km), without flapping its wings. “Condors are expert pilots — but we just hadn’t expected they would be quite so expert,” “When you see condors circling, they are taking advantage...

Rare bird at extinction's brink is spotted on Peninsula.After 110 years, a California condor has returned to San Mateo County. The first California condor spotted in San Mateo since 1904 is a three-year old female that flew over 100 miles from San Benito County to Pescadero, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Condors are big birds with wing spans of up to nine feet, according to wildlife experts. They're also breeding again "on their own" after hunting and habitat loss cut the condor population down to 22 in 1982. All 22 of the condors were captured and made to...

In November, one of the oldest condors in Central California died from lead poisoning after being found with tiny bullet fragments and a .22-caliber slug in his gullet that he apparently swallowed with a mouthful of meat. The 9-year-old giant was one of the earliest released in a condor recovery program along the Big Sur coast. His death -- and the recent death of a golden eagle near Sacramento -- are being highlighted by health and environmental groups who want California to become the first state to impose a statewide ban on the use of lead bullets for hunting.

Enlarge Image In danger. The California condor is threatened by lead poisoning from bullets in scavenged carcasses. Credit: Joe Burnett Spreading its wings to a 3-meter span, flying at a speed of up to 96 kph, and living as long as 60 years, the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is one of the world’s most magnificent birds. It’s also one of the rarest. Only 22 condors were alive in 1982, due to poaching, habitat destruction, DDT poisoning, and shooting by cattle ranchers who mistakenly believed that the carrion-eating birds were killing young calves. An intensive captive breeding program has increased...

Oh! There's a condor flying!" shouts Michael Woodbridge, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We've been sitting on a poison oak-covered cliff in the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge for nearly an hour, focused on the rocky cave that hides a California condor nest across the canyon. "That's the dad. He's coming to check us out." Seconds later, the massive black bird does just that, rotating his golden-orange face on a fluffy collar of neck feathers to peer our way. With a stark white underbelly and unmistakable glider-like flying style, I realize-despite some false alarms in my years of...

CALIFORNIA ALERT SYSTEMMultiple Organization Alert NRA Members' Councils of California   CAL-ERT  06/12/09 --- Noon ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CALIFORNIA REGULATORY ALERTThis information is accurate at the time this CAL-ERT was written and originally distributed. The NRA Members' Councils of California and the California Rifle and Pistol Association have issued this alert in a cooperative effort and will keep you informed as issues affect your gun-rights in California. EXPANSION OF THE BAN ON LEAD AMMUNITION MAY BE ATTEMPTED BY FISH & GAME HISTORY: On February 5, 2009, we informed you that the California Fish and Game Commission was considering a state-wide ban...

NRA Members' Councils of California << Please cross-post & distribute this CAL-ERT >> << Please cross-post & distribute this CAL-ERT >> << Please cross-post & distribute this CAL-ERT >>  CAL-ERT  03/11/08 --- 3:00 PM  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CALIFORNIA REGULATORY ALERTThis information is accurate at the time this CAL-ERT was written and originally distributed. The NRA Members' Councils of California will keep you informed as the situation changes in Sacramento.IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!!!CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION REGULATORY PROPOSALSWEEPING NEW REGULATIONS OVERSTEP EVEN THE EXTREME RESTRICTIONS OF AB821FISH & GAME COMMISSION NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU!   NOW!!!  The California Fish and Game Commission...

AP file photo New rules on .22-caliber ammunition will apply only to areas where the endangered California condor roams, including the Big Sur area, above. SACRAMENTO — California hunting regulators Friday broadened a prohibition on lead bullets scheduled to take effect July 1, adding .22-caliber ammunition to the ban. The new rules will apply only in those areas where the endangered California condor roams — generally, the coastal mountains from Monterey south to Ventura County and in the southern Sierra. The action by the Fish and Game Commission follows enactment of a landmark law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

SACRAMENTO — California Fish and Game commissioners signaled Monday they are leaning toward enacting a ban on lead ammunition in deer-hunting zones within the range of the 70 condors now flying free in the state. At the close of a daylong hearing, commissioners asked that the formal public comment period on the proposed ban be opened quickly so they can consider enacting the ban at their Nov. 1 meeting. "I'd like to see us take the lead on this," said Vice President Cindy Gustafson. "I'm very concerned that if, as a commission, we don't address this issue, others will address...

Fish and Game Commission considering four possible courses of action A possible ban on lead bullets for hunting will be on the state Fish and Game Commission agenda when it meets next month in Bodega Bay. The commission voted unanimously at its Feb. 2 meeting in Monterey to serve notice of its intent to amend hunting regulations for 2007-2010 with an aim of eliminating lead bullets in the California condor range. It did not take action on the issue at Friday's commission meeting in Arcata, postponing action on the lead bullet ban to its April 13 meeting in Bodega Bay....

 NRA Members' Councils of California    Legislative Info and Contact Tools AMMO BAN Summary:  NRA opposes this measure. Issue:   LEAD AMMO BAN (Fish & Game)   Description:   The Department of Fish and Game has been sued in Federal Court for an alleged "illegal" taking of condors and golden eagles under the Endangered Species Act and various Federal rules and regs related to raptor protection. The Department of Fish and Game is considering courses of action.   Latest Info:   12/08/2006 - Dept. of Fish & Game meeting. The various condor recovery groups involved are attempting to introduce condors every year...

A coalition of conservationist and health organizations has served notice that it will sue the state California Fish and Game Commission for continuing to allow lead ammunition to be used for hunting in California. The groups contend that lead bullets lodged in carcasses left by hunters are poisoning California condors that feed on them. "Lead poisoning from ammunition is the single greatest obstacle to the recovery of wild California condors," said Jeff Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the organizations joining forces in the suit. Other parties include the Natural Resources Defense Council, Physicians for Social Responsibility...

HUNTERS WOULD SWITCH TO COPPER AMMUNITION Citing studies that show lead poisoning threatens the recovery of the California condor, a coalition of environmental groups has asked the state to ban hunters from using lead bullets or lead shot in the areas where condors live -- roughly from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. The five-member state Fish and Game Commission, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is scheduled to vote on the issue today. Thousands of letters, calls and e-mails already have poured in from supporters and opponents. If the commission rejects the controversial request, as its staff has recommended, environmentalists...

Anti-gun lobby in CA to try "back door" ammo ban The Antis in CA are again trying to ban ammunition in the State. This time, however, they're not going to their pals in the Legislature. This time, they've gone to the Department of Fish and Game. Their plan is to get the DFG to ban lead ammo to "save the condors". (Click here for some background info.) The issue is now slated for a hearing as Agenda Item #17 on the Commission's Feb. 3 meeting... 17. (A) CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST OF THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, ET AL., FOR THE...

EDITORIAL There was California Condor 36 again, showing off for tourists this summer along the side of Highway 1 near Big Sur, unruffled as people came within a couple of feet, snapping pictures. Fun for tourists, but an example of why restoring California's flagship endangered species is proving to be such a delicate effort. The last fully wild condor was captured near Tejon Ranch, on the far side of the I-5 Grapevine, in 1987. It entered a captive breeding program that so far has cost about $35 million yet has met with shaky success. The post-captivity condors — there are...