One condor discovered alive, but 13 still missing as Dolan Fire burns near Big Sur

“Shadow,” one of the 10 California condors missing for more than a week after the ferocious Dolan Fire swept through the Big Sur area, was detected alive by biologists at Pinnacles National Park on Friday morning.

As of Saturday, nine condors were still missing in the Big Sur Condor Range, and four nesting chicks are not accounted for, according to Kelly Sorenson, Ventana Wildlife Society’s (VWS) executive director.

“Our hopes remain high that we’ll locate the other birds,” Sorenson said in a phone interview on Friday. Most of the missing condors do not have GPS technology, but they do have what Sorenson calls “FM radio” devices attached to their wings.

“We have an aircraft flying over the range with a radio receiver that can detect the FM transmissions from the birds,” Sorenson explained. “We’re really hoping that the aircraft will pick up signals from these missing birds for us.”

It’s a “very effective way to search,” Sorenson said. “In fact, before GPS, this was the only way we could track the movement of condors.” The aircraft’s search was cut short Friday due to heavy smoke from the wildfire, said Sorenson.

If a bird’s transmitter is stationary for about eight hours, it will trigger a mortality signal, Sorenson said.

“If no signal, we assume the bird is either out of the area of the transmitter was destroyed,” Sorenson added.

As of Saturday morning, the Dolan Fire had burned 25,587 and was only 20% contained.

Condors and wildfires

Sorenson has been hands-on involved with the Condor Recovery Program for 23 years. In that time, he explained, “I never really thought about a wildfire taking the lives of many condors. And that still might not be the case with the Dolan Fire.

“It’s understandable that some of the birds would choose to spend the night in the Big Sur Sanctuary, not knowing they might be overcome by flames before the morning. I’m praying this is not the case and that more condors will be found, like Shadow was on Friday,” Sorenson said.

In June 2018, the Basin-Complex fire — which was the result of a lightning strike andburned 162,818 acres in the Big Sur area — took the lives of two condors, Sorenson recalled. “Even though it was only two, we had 60 or so birds in the air then so it was 3%.

“We can’t assume too soon today that these nine birds are alive or dead. But we are concerned because it’s been a week since the fire destroyed the Big Sur sanctuary.”

Like most birds, condors instinctively fly away from fire, Sorenson said. But since condors only fly in daylight, they are particularly at risk during a night-time blaze.

“If they pick a spot to roost, and the wind direction changes, and their spot is covered with smoke, and the fire comes upon them before sunrise, you could see how they would be vulnerable. Even though when they went to sleep the fire was nowhere near them.”

The Dolan Fire — reportedly the work of an arsonist — started a mile south of the Big Sur condor sanctuary on Tuesday, Aug. 18. On Thursday, Aug. 20, one of the live condor cams recorded the sight of fire approaching the nest cavity (in a giant redwood tree), where baby condor “Iniko” (hatched on April 25) is being raised.

On Friday, Aug. 21, the fire burned through the sanctuary, and the second condor cam stream was cut off.

Ventana Wildlife Society asks for donations

Regarding the chances of the four nesting chicks surviving, Sorenson notes that over the past 20 years, “six condor chick nests were subjected to wildfire, and five survived the experience.”

Though the condor population was down to just 22 birds in the mid-1980s, thanks to the California Condor Recovery Program’s captive breeding agenda, 101 condors are now flying free in Central California’s Big Sur/Pinnacles flock — and 200 condors total are living in the wild in California.

One of those 200, Shadow (#209), the lone Big Sur condor that has been located alive, is a male that was raised in captivity in the San Diego Zoo and released into the wild in March 2000. Recently, Shadow has paired with condor #236, and together they have successfully raised two biological chicks in the wild.

The Ventana Wildlife Society has launched a fundraising campaign to “Rebuild the Condor’s Big Sur Sanctuary.” The goal is to raise $500,000 “to continue our work restoring this magnificent species,” according to the VWS website.

Those who donate will become members of the VWS, and some donations will receive invitations to member-only events and field trips. There’s also a 10-day online silent auction that people can bid on.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will match private gifts through the end of 2020. All donations are tax-deductible.

Condors still missing

The following birds were last seen on Aug. 20: Kingpin (#167); Survivor (#375); and #448 (unnamed), a Pinnacles-released adult male nesting in Big Sur with a Pinnacles-released female (#543). Their nest was one of four burned in the Dolan Fire. Their chick, #1022, is 5 months old.

Other missing condors: Electra (#678); Arthur (#773); Boreas (#789); Vincent (#892); and #9001 and #9003, wild-fledged birds flying free since 2019 that have not yet been genetically identified.

Wild chicks in nests unaccounted for since Aug. 20: #1022; #1029; #1030; and #1031 (Iniko, whose parents are #167 Kingpin and female #190, Redwood Queen).

For more information on the Ventana Wildlife Society and how to contribute to rebuilding the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary, visit www.ventanaws.org.