Nobody Pushes a Condor Out of the Pen. All Four Left Within 45 Minutes

The doors of a condor release pen in northern Arizona opened at 11 a.m. MST on Sept. 26, 2026. Then a crowd waited for four young California condors to decide it was time to go. The last two were airborne 45 minutes later.²

The release at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument marked 30 years of condor releases at the site. The Bureau of Land Management held it on National Public Lands Day with The Peregrine Fund, as part of the Department of the Interior’s Freedom 250 initiative.¹

The anniversary is worth marking. In the late 1980s, only 22 California condors were left. Both organizations say the species now numbers more than 600.¹² The BLM says 392 of those birds fly free across four release sites. The Peregrine Fund says more than half live in the wild, including nearly 100 in Arizona and Utah. It also notes that lead poisoning is still the leading cause of death for condors, so the recovery isn’t finished.¹²

A release on the birds’ schedule

The event was a “soft launch.” Nobody pushes the condors out. The young birds leave the pen when they choose to.¹

Condor 1365 went first, a little under 20 minutes after the doors opened. Condor 1341 left about 35 minutes in. Condors 1382 and 1353 left at the 45-minute mark, seconds apart.² The crowd applauded each one.¹

The two partners counted that crowd differently. The BLM described hundreds of visitors, partners, volunteers and agency staff. The Peregrine Fund estimated nearly 900 people. It also counted about 50 more at a watch party in Boise, Idaho, and 4,658 views of its livestream.¹² The multicamera broadcast included short pre-recorded documentaries, interviews with field crew and a live Q&A.¹

From Boise to the cliff rim

All four birds hatched and grew up at The Peregrine Fund’s Propagation Facility at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise. They moved to Arizona in early September.²

In their first days in the wild, The Peregrine Fund reported, all four flew strongly and with control above the cliff rim. They also found and ate from a carcass that the field team leaves near the release site.² Their first meals in the wild were, in fairness, catered.

The first release at Vermilion Cliffs took place on Dec. 12, 1996, when six young condors made their first flights. That was the first time in decades that condors had flown over Arizona.²⁴

A long list of partners

The recovery program involves BLM Arizona and Utah, The Peregrine Fund, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and tribal nations. Their work includes captive breeding, managing habitat, monitoring the birds and public outreach.¹

“Collaboration is key,” Bob Bate, the BLM’s Vermilion Cliffs monument manager, said in the agency’s account of the day. Margaret “Peggy” O’Reilly, a BLM outdoor recreation planner for the area, made the same point there: “It wouldn’t happen without collaboration.”¹

This year the condors also reached a new audience. For the first time, the team behind the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app promoted the event and the recovery effort to users in Arizona, Utah, Idaho and California. The BLM says the feature was viewed more than 144,000 times. The Peregrine Fund says the news reached about 90,000 app users.¹²

Visitors on site got some extras. A traveling flag from the Great American Expedition was there, along with the BLM mascot, Seymour Antelope. People could also make native-plant seedballs to help restore habitat around the viewing site.¹

“When you become embroiled in condor recovery, it never leaves your blood,” The Peregrine Fund’s program director said in the BLM’s write-up.¹