Another Condor Chick

If you followed the blog last year, you know I was fascinated by Condor Cam from the San Diego Zoo. I posted screen shots of the little chick and everything. Well, if you missed Saticoy last year, you have another chance to watch another chick this year.

On March 26th, Shatash and Sisquoc had their 2013 chick hatch. I'll confess, I missed it and that frustrates me because it was born when I was home from work, so I could have seen it. I just didn't check in that day.

It was the most awesome experience last year to watch Saticoy grow up from this itty bitty little bird into a young adult condor. It was a sad day when he fledged and I couldn't follow him any longer.

The parents take turns taking care of their chick. When it's first born and can't regulate its body temperature yet, there's a parent there constantly. When the chick can do this, the parents come in and out of the nest box to feed their offspring.

As the chick continues to grow, he (or she) will begin to flap its wings more, strengthening the muscles, and hop up and down on the box ledge to work on leg muscles. It was so much fun to watch Saticoy reach these milestones in 2012 and I can't wait to watch the new chick this year.

Condor Chick Update

I still love Condor Cam and I thought I'd share some more condor chick pictures. Saticoy (a boy) was born March 10 and the last time he was weighed, he was 12 pounds with a wing span of about five feet. He's getting to be a big boy.

The big events, though, have happened in the last couple of weeks. First, Saticoy finally was able to jump onto the ledge of his nest box! He tried and tried and he'd either not make it high enough, or once he could get high enough, he'd lose his balance after a couple of seconds and fall down. He's solved that problem.

The other exciting milestone is that over the weekend Saticoy finally jumped outside his nest box. He still spends most of his time inside, but according to the San Diego Zoo's blog, he'll spend more and more time outside until he's old enough to fly.

So here are the latest Saticoy pictures:

This is Saticoy's dad with the reddish head and the wing tags. Saticoy has his wings out--it's a begging posture--and his father is feeding him.

This is Saticoy hanging out with his dad.

Saticoy is sitting on the ledge and in the upper portion of the picture, you can see the tail feathers of one of his parents. Saticoy has more and more of his big boy feathers, but you can still see all the down on the backs of his wings.

Another picture of Saticoy on the ledge. He's watching one of his parents who is outside.

Saticoy getting some attention from mom.

Here's Saticoy--finally outside! He's enjoying the afternoon with his dad.

I screen shot this picture last night. Saticoy is yawning in this picture. Again, he's outside. As far as I know, this is only the second day he's gone outside. Pretty darn awesome!

Two Months of the Condor

I blogged back in April (I love Condor Cam) about how much I loved Condor Cam at the San Diego Zoo. I've remained addicted to this live stream of the Condors and I wanted to share some updated pictures. You won't believe how big little Saticoy (the chick's name) has become in such a short period of time!

First, a picture of little Saticoy when he was 11 days old. He's tucked near his mama's wing.

Here's Saticoy on April 22. He was born on March 10, so he's about 6 weeks old in this picture. He grew fast!

This screenshot of Saticoy was taken yesterday, May 28th. I'm not sure this gives the best view of how big he is, so let me find another shot.

Here we go. This one was taken on May 21st and it shows him near the opening of his nesting box. If I recall correctly, that's Saticoy's father sitting outside, guarding the entrance.

And one last picture because this shot is sooo cute! This is Saticoy sleeping, totally relaxed and oblivious. Isn't he adorable?

I Love Condor Cam

I'm not sure how I heard about it--probably over Twitter--but I learned that the San Diego Zoo had a condor egg ready to hatch! For the first time, they were broadcasting the camera feed over the internet--Condor Cam! This was back at the beginning of March and the chick hatched on Saturday March 10th. As luck would have it, I saw the baby bird shortly after he (she?) emerged.

I've become addicted to condor cam. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take screenshots until 8 days after the chick's birth. I blame it on how tired and busy I've been. Because these are screen shots from Condor Cam, they're not as clear as I would like, but I'm going to share them anyway.

Condor Chick - 8 Days Old

Here's the condor chick with his mama - 11 Days Old

Condor Chick - 12 Days Old

Condor Chick tucked under his Mama's wing - 16 Days Old

Sleeping Condor Chick - 19 Days Old