Critically Endangered, but Not Shy: Camera Spots Bunch of Condors Just Hanging Out | KQED

Up in the higher reaches of the southern Sierra Nevada foothills, a cool piece of modern technology is giving a close-up look at an ancient marvel of California’s skies.

On Tuesday, a PG&E wildfire camera on a mountaintop 30 miles northeast of downtown Bakersfield captured a group of as many as 10 California condors roosting at a communications tower there.

One bird in particular, a 7-year-old female designated alternately as Condor 811 or “Lulutti,” put on a bit of a show. She stared straight into the camera at one point to show off her naked, wrinkled, pinkish-red head. Later, she displayed her impressive wingspan and jet-black plumage.

Another member of the flock, a 14-year-old male prosaically named Condor 509, eyeballed the camera as the sun rose over the Sierra Wednesday morning.