A pair of California condors who were part of a group released into the wild several years ago appear to be nesting in a redwood tree in remote Humboldt County, and tending to an egg.It may be the first egg in a wild condor nest in Northern California in about 100 years, as a pair of the endangered birds look very much to be tending to an egg based on their tracked flight patterns. Scientists with the Yurok Tribe who are monitoring the birds announced the milestone this week."Based on a series of behavioral changes and an analysis of flight data, the Northern California Condor Restoration Program determined that condors A0 (Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chween-kah) and A1 (Hlow Hoo-let) may have started tending to a newly laid egg in early February, although actual confirmation of an egg is impossible due to the remoteness of the nesting site," the tribe's press release says. "A0 would have deposited the egg within a cavity of an old-growth redwood in the Redwood Creek drainage after months of searching for the ideal location."The nesting pair are both six years old, and were part of a group of 26 that were raised in captivity and released into the wild as juveniles in 2022, in Redwood National and State Parks. Because of the high mortality rate of condor chicks born in the wild, conservationists in the last several decades have been keeping hatchlings in captivity for a period of time before releasing them into the wild, to increase their chance of survival.The condor egg was first reported by the Lost Coast Outpost and the San Francisco Chronicle. As the Chronicle reports, the GPS data being tracked by the scientists shows the male and female taking turns sitting on the egg in the nest — sitting so still that their lack of activity prompted mortality alerts."I have been waiting for this moment since the first condors arrived in 2022,” said Yurok Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen in a statement. “As a scientist, I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cheer for these young parents’ success."Chris West, the Northern California Condor Restoration Program manager and Yurok Wildlife Department senior biologist adds, "This is a huge moment for our Northern California flock. It is important to remember that these are wild birds. We trap them occasionally for health monitoring, but if they nest, and how successful they are, is totally up to them, with as little interference from us as possible."The chances are statistically pretty low that this first egg being laid by these inexperienced parents will produce a viable hatchling. But, says West, speaking to the Chronicle, "I do know the odds. [But] I am optimistic."While the northern part of California has not seen a condor egg in the wild in a century, there was a successful birth in the wild in Big Sur in 2009, a condor named Miracle. (Big Sur seems to not be considered Northern California in the various reports about this new nest.) Miracle and her mate Nomad then gave birth to the first second-generation chick in 2017. Sadly, their offspring Vincent only lived to the age of 8, and was found dead in December — illustrating the fragility of the state's condor restoration project.Condors, which are considered the largest North American land bird, can live to be 60 years old. The San Diego and LA zoos play a part in the restoration project, helping to hatch and raise condors in captivity — with the LA Zoo setting a record in 2024 of 17 successful condor births. There are around 565 condors alive today, with around 350 living in the wild — split into two populations, one in Arizona and one in California. The remainder live in captivity. This is an improvement from the mid-1980s, when it was believed there were only 22 of the birds still alive.One factor that threatens the stability of the population is that condors typically only lay one egg per breeding season, and the birds take six years to reach sexual maturity. Once living in the wild, condors can suffer from lead poisoning due to ingesting hunters' bullet fragments when scavenging and eating the carcasses of dead deer and other animals. The Oakland Zoo is one facility that helps to treat condors suffering from lead poisoning.One condor with lead poisoning died in the zoo's care last July.Photo by Kacie Long ...read more read less