Roost of the Condor

Many people are familiar with the near-extinction of the California Condors. However in the years since, the Condor is beginning to make a recovery. In the wilds of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, a condor breeding program is taking place, and while the site itself is only open to authorized personal, it is easy to see-- if you know where to look. In Arizona's House Rock Valley, about forty miles down US 89A after it passes the end of the Vermillion Cliffs, there is a small dirt road running off into the wilderness. This road--House Rock Road--runs almost forty miles to join US 89 near Paria, UT. However, if you only travel a few miles down this road, there is a covered area with binoculars, and benches to observe the large birds circling over the cliffs about a mile away. It is here where the California Condors were released. With the condor population beginning to rebound, the area is now also used to lure birds in for checkups and to test their blood for lead from ammunition, found in the carrion the birds eat. The enclosure where the breeding program occurred is on top of the cliff, hard to spot without binoculars, but the circling condors are not. They spend much of their time traveling abroad n the Southwest as they did for eons, but in the Autumn they visit the Vermillion Cliffs and the researchers lay out cattle carcasses to lure the birds in. The circling birds make an incredible sight themselves, their nine foot wingspans dwarfing the ravens that fly with them. Recovery is going well, and it is incredible to see them, even if they are a mile away. -KP

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