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Thom Lord releasing young Condor 350 (wild hatched chick) after a successful recovery from a broken bone in the wing.

Condor 210 as a juvenile perched in front of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

Breeding male Condor 123 perched at the Grand Canyon. He was the father of the first wild-hatched chick since the program’s inception in Arizona. Photo by C. VanCleve

Paired flights are often observed during the breeding season.

Release pen atop the Paria Plateau.

Lone condor with an impressive wing span of nearly ten feet flying in the Grand Canyon.

Condors reach sexual maturity between five to seven years of age, at which point their heads have completely changed from a sooty grey-black to the pink/orange seen here. Photo by C. VanCleve

Condors are strictly opportunistic scavengers, usually feeding on the carcasses of large mammals. Photo by C. VanCleve

Adult female Condor 127 in the Colorado River drainage below Lake Powell, Arizona.

Condors have a long neck used for feeding within carcasses, but are able to tuck their head close to their body utilizing a ruff of feathers to keep warm when not feeding.

Condors 119 and 122, another successful breeding pair, perched at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo by C. VanCleve

Look to snags, and rocky outcroppings to find perched condors.

Condors may often be seen sunning themselves on lofty perches above the canyon floor.

Adult condor sitting contently after a hearty meal (note full crop).

Young condor takes flight.

Young condor coming in for a smooth landing.

Adult California Condor eyes change from brown to red as they mature.

Conventional transmitters help Peregrine Fund biologists keep track of the condors.

All of the released condors have numbered patagial wing markers that identify individual birds.

Biologist Thom Lord in front of the 2005 nest cave on the Kaibab Plateau.