The end of February this year I backpacked 10 days in the Grand Canyon and saw CONDORS on 4 occasions. The third time, from Panorama Point, 3 condors soared overhead for 45 minutes, just before and after sunset, twice coming so close directly overhead that I could hear their wings cutting the wind. They moved up and down the river corridor, with never a wingbeat, sometimes maneuvering a little apart, then back together. The awesome Grand Canyon backdrop included a crescent moon, and a lasting visual will be the 3 condors at different angles silhouetted against the moon. A fourth condor had landed at sunset on a ledge just below the plateau, no more than 100 feet away, providing excellent close-ups with binoculars. The next day, I was told by a new friend from Australia, with whom I had watched the condors the night before, that a juvenile had landed on Plateau point and stayed there for quite a while, seemingly uncaring that 3 people were very close by. Although the condors are mostly down in the canyon, they sometimes are also seen at rim level. I also saw condors from the Bright Angel trail below Plateau Point, an overlook along the Clear Creek trail, and the south rim. An overnight trip to Indian Gardens with a day hike to Panorama Point is a great way to see these amazing birds (and, by the way, to experience the Grand Canyon).

Also, at the Colorado river crossing at dusk from the bridge I saw a BLUE HERON, and the next morning saw a BALD EAGLE hunting along Bright Angle creek, both single birds seen there over the years but uncommon residents of the canyon bottom, according to the ranger. There were also 2 turkeys at Bright Angel campground, which the ranger said are common on the rim but not the canyon bottom. Apparently they sometimes get blown into the canyon and can't find their way back out. The (wild) turkeys approached within a couple feet of me, and made careful rounds of the entire campground.

At Clear creek, I heard a pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS on two different nights. Quite a few MEXICAN SPOTTED OWLS have also been found within the canyon resulting from protocol spotted owl surveys. Another result of these surveys has been that great horned owls are now considered a common resident of the inner canyon.

Bob Pearson
Packwood, WA