For the first time in over a century, California condors are nesting in the wild Pacific Northwest. This is seriously cool news from the Yurok Tribe's reintroduction program.
Biologists noticed a female condor, named Ney-gem’ Ne-chween-kah, acting a little different. Satellite data showed she probably laid an egg back in early February. Her nest is tucked inside a hollow old-growth redwood tree.
Her mate, Hlow Hoo-let, is sharing egg-sitting duties. Both birds are about seven years old, which is right when condors usually start having chicks.
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Start Your News DetoxChris West, who runs the Northern California Condor Restoration Program, called this a "huge moment." He stressed that these are truly wild birds. The team keeps an eye on them but tries not to get in the way of their nesting.
The nest is in a super remote spot. Staff use tiny transmitters on the birds' wings and watch them from a distance. They're even thinking about using drones for a closer peek at the nest.
If there's an egg, it should hatch in about 55 to 58 days. This comeback story for one of North America's largest birds is a pretty big deal.
