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I saw a California Condor for the first time at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon. As we looked down into the canyon, a giant bird flew over our heads and landed in front of us, folded its wings gracefully, and stood facing the canyon, as if curious about what we saw. The group of strangers there spoke softly in awe about this special bird. Since then I have seen condors at the Vermillion Cliffs in northwestern Arizona, but I have not been able to get suitable reference photographs. Thank you to my friend Ned Harris for his permission to use his photograph of this condor, taken at Navajo Bridge, Arizona in 2022. This quilt honors the memory of Condor R8 (also known as 786 to the Peregrine Fund that is one of the conservation groups involved with condors), a condor that died in 2024 after consuming lead from the remains of a hunter’s kill. Condors are nature’s cleanup crew because they eat carrion. This bird was beautiful in his own way, but his death reminds us that, while condors are resilient and recovering, our wildlife is still fragile. Conservationists work to protect these birds from exposure to lead and other contaminants so the birds can perform their role in nature. Area agencies are educating hunters about the negative effects of lead ammunition on condors and other animals so that hunters in those locations might not impact non-game species. Photograph of quilt by Denneen Peterson and Jack Kulawik.
