We have seen the California condor. In fact, we saw four of them at the Navajo Bridge in Northern Arizona.
 The condor is one of the most endangered species in North America. They are also the largest and heaviest of all North American flying birds; their wingspan is more than 9 feet, and they weigh 20-23 pounds. They are related to vultures, and like the vultures they have bare heads and feed on carrion. They are black with patches of white in the wings.
By 1987, there were fewer than 25 condors left in the wild. They declined due to a variety of causes such as habitat loss, lead poisoning and collisions with power structures. The surviving wild birds were captured and began to breed in captivity. Since then, the population has increased to more than 300 birds, and around 172 have been released into the wild in Arizona and California.
The released condors can be seen in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon, Southern Utah and north of Los Angeles. We planned our recent trip to begin in Northern Arizona to look for the condors. We had information that they could be seen at the Vermillion Cliffs in Marble Canyon — not far from the Utah border.
We visited the Vermillion Cliffs and the kiosk that provides information about the  condors, but didn’t see any there. We talked to a local man, who said the birds dispersed during winter and could be seen at the Navajo Bridge. We headed back south to the bridge to look for them. 
The Navajo Bridges (there are two) cross a gorge that the Colorado River runs through. The older bridge is for walkers and bicyclists; the newer bridge is part of the highway. We walked out on the old bridge and looked around, hoping to see condors soaring. There weren’t any flying, but down in the gorge, sitting on a huge rock, was a sub-adult condor. Adult condors have red or orange heads, and the sub-adults have gray heads.
After a few minutes, the young bird flew up the gorge and landed in a crevice just below the top. With the telescope, we located four condors in a crevice that appeared — from the distance — to be only large enough for pigeons. Unfortunately, the birds were too far away for me to photograph adequately. The photos I shot have to be enlarged, and are not clear.
The condors all have large numbers attached to their wings so that they can be monitored, and the birds we saw were numbers 93, 73, 47 and 29. We were told by the clerk in the gift shop that #73 had been at gorge for a number of years and had bred there. He also told us that condors mate for life, and they make friends for life.
Condors only breed every other year, and then they only have one egg. If that egg is lost, they occasionally lay another. At that rate and with the hazards the birds face, the population doesn’t increase very rapidly. It seems amazing that the numbers have increased from 20 or so to more than 300 in 22 years.
It was quite an experience to see the condors, and we shared our telescope with other people on the bridge. Even those who normally had no real interest in birds seemed fascinated to hear about the big birds. We were glad we had gone to see them, and Northern Arizona is a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

Meanwhile, back at home
We had our first white-throated sparrow of the season at our feeders two weeks ago. The day after we returned from vacation, we were surprised to see a white-crowned sparrow feeding in the yard. In more than 25 years of feeding birds, that was only about the third white-crowned we’d hosted. It only stayed a couple of days.
We usually have juncos within a day or two of the white-throated sparrows’ arrival, but this year they lagged behind until this past Sunday. We are now seeing a couple every day. Juncos are the small gray birds with white bellies and white edges on their tails. The males are dark gray, and the females are lighter.
Glenn and Evelyn Good had a hummingbird at their feeders up until last Saturday — the last day of October. The little birds stayed late this year, and the only explanation I can think of is they didn’t want to travel in the rain. Can’t say I blame them.
Good birding!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dolores Harrington, who formerly wrote for the Siftings Herald, will contribute “For the Birds” periodically. Report sightings by leaving your name and phone number at the newspaper office, 246-5525, or e-mail: doloresh@suddenlink.net. Harrington will return your calls as soon as possible.