![]() The adults also have a throat sack that they can puff out during courtship displays. It turns a deep red-pink during courtship or when the birds are excited or alarmed. The skin on an adult condor’s head can also express some emotions. They may not be the prettiest birds you’ve ever seen, but that bare head is perfectly designed to keep rotting food from sticking to it as the birds eat. They even have a very hardy and effective immune system, so they don’t get sick from any of the bacteria they may come in contact with when feeding on decaying wildlife.īald is beautiful. Adult California condors have a distinctive pink head and neck that is bare of feathers. Condors also bathe frequently and spend hours smoothing and drying their feathers. After eating, they clean their head and neck by rubbing them on grass, rocks, or branches. They can reach flying speeds of up to 55 miles per hour (88 kilometers per hour), and they can fly to altitudes of 15,000 feet (4,600 meters).Ĭondors are neat! Some people think of vultures as "dirty,” but California condors are pretty tidy birds. Condors catch thermal air currents that rise up as the sun heats the ground, and with those huge wings they can stay aloft for hours, soaring through the skies as they scan the fields below. The structure of condor wings and the placement of the feathers allow these large birds to soar. ![]() That’s when their impressive wings are shown in all their glory revealing that distinctive white patch. When in flight, California condors are a sight to behold. It can be distinguished in flight from other vultures by the large, triangular white patch under each wing. Some call it the thunderbird because they believe the bird brings thunder to the skies with the beating of its huge wings. Indigenous tribes in North America have great respect for the condor and see it as a symbol of power. Fossil records indicate that these birds once inhabited present-day Florida and New York as well. At one time there were thousands of California condors across the western United States and into Mexico. They are known for their enormous black wings, extraordinary eyesight, and an inquisitive and engaging intelligence. The Condor Express is the premier whale watching and dinner cruise venue on the West Coast, and can carry over 120 passengers with both in cabin and upper deck seating.The magnificent thunderbird. California condors are one of the largest flying birds. Nearly extinct in the last century, California Gray whales now number over 25,000! Come out to enjoy and celebrate their return during their northern migration November thru mid-May. The California gray whale herd passes by on both their Southern & Northern migration. The Santa Barbara Channel is home to over 27 different species of whales and dolphins that visit throughout the year, and it’s the prime northern feeding grounds for blue whales and humpback whales from May through November. The Condor Express is a 75′ state-of-the-art, ecofriendly, high-speed catamaran. Our cruising ground includes the nutrient rich waters around Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands, generally considered to contain one of the world’s greatest variety of marine mammals. The Condor Express offers daily whale watching trips year round from the Sea Landing dock in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
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