Wild North Coast condor egg unsuccessful; Yurok biologists excited by parenting attempt

An egg laid in the wild by two free-flying Pacific Northwest condors appears to have failed, but Yurok biologists are excited by the first parenting attempt.

Tiana Williams-Claussen, director for the Yurok Tribal Wildlife Department, said Friday, April 17, that the 7-year-old birds, A0 and A1, who are female and male, respectively, are the oldest of 23 condors residing in the wild within Yurok ancestral territory.

Last year, biologists realized the condors had paired up when the two lovebirds started hanging out and flying in a nest-searching pattern.

Biologists have not been able to lay eyes on the suspected nesting spot due to its remoteness, but can tell via satellite tracking that the birds started exhibiting typical incubating behavior around the first week of April.

Condor eggs are delicate and need constant parental care - if left alone for even a few minutes they can fail, Williams-Claussen said. The two birds have been traveling away from the suspected nesting area at the same time, which is why biologists believe it didn't work out.

"We're going to continue watching them," Williams-Claussen said. "They could lay another egg and have a viable chick right now but are not re-engaging in an incubating pattern. But they have another three to six weeks or they can try again next year."

A0, or ‘Ne-chween-kah,' which translates to "She carries our prayers," was the only female in the first released cohort. Having hatched at the Oregon Zoo in March 2019, she is the oldest condor in the flock and was released in 2022. A1, nicknamed ‘Hlow Hoo-let,' which means "At last I (or we) fly!", is 10 days younger than A0, and hatched at the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.

The Northern California Condor Restoration Program is a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and the Redwood National and State Parks. It's a part of the California Condor Recovery Program, an effort led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to recover the endangered California condor by establishing robust self-sustaining populations of condors within their historical homelands. They have successfully bred well over 1,000 birds, 600 of which are out in the world with only about 300 free-flying condors.

Williams-Claussen said the Yurok Tribe has received 25 birds ages 1.5 to 2.5 years old, which were released into Yurok country. Two have died due to their high mortality rate. This was the Yurok cohort's first attempt at wild breeding.

"Even if it doesn't work out this year, we're still super excited," Williams-Claussen said. "This was an amazing first step for our condor flock and it's just indicative of what needs to get done to have a successful population."

The idea to bring back California condors came in 2003 from a panel of Yurok elders who wanted to prioritize culture and environmental needs. They decided the condor, a keystone species, was the most important species to bring back due to the birds' cultural importance to the Yurok. Condors haven't been recorded in Yurok territory since 1892 and their feathers play an important role in regalia for world renewal ceremonies.

"Condors tie to our reason for being as world renewal people," Williams-Claussen said. "It's our reason to be on Earth, to do everything we can to maintain a resilient balance in the world."

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 6:43 PM.