Flying to Capture a Condor’s Story of Survival

A California condor soars above Northern California The species was reintroduced to the region as part of a project with the Yurok Tribe Photo by Len Necefer

One of the greatest tools in conservation is education. Understanding the California condor would not be complete without an aerial perspective. They are birds after all!

LightHawk conservation partner Natives Outdoors is currently working on a documentary film about California condor reintroduction in Northern California. We took to the sky with them recently to capture aerial imagery as part of the project.

According to the National Park Service, in 2003, the Yurok Tribe identified restoring California condors to Yurok Ancestral Territory as a top priority. In 2008, the tribe’s wildlife program obtained a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and began assessing the historical habitat for current suitability.

CS4A4681 - LightHawk — The flight captured footage of condors habitat and range in Northern California Photo by Len Necefer

CS4A4660 - LightHawk — Volunteer pilot Rick Utermoehlen points out areas of interest as he flew the film crew around Redwood National and State Parks Photo by Len Necefer

A large group of agencies, tribal governments, wildlife societies, hunter as stewards programs, park partners, non-profit and private organizations collaborated to establish a condor release site in Redwood National Park. This become a reality in spring 2022 when an “experimental population” of (initially) five condors became part of the Redwood National and State Park‘s scenery, and eventually visitors’ experience. LightHawk also partners with the Yurok Tribe for monitoring flights of the region’s condor population.

This flight took off from Eureka, California, volunteer pilot Rick Utermoehlen flew the crew over the Redwood Coast region near Redwood National and State Park. The captured footage of the condors’ habitat and range along the way. Additionally, they were able to collect photos and video that provides an aerial perspective of a condor’s flight path – providing a point of view unmatched by ground-based imagery.

CS4A4858 - LightHawk — Partner Natives Outdoors is working on a documentary film project about the reintroduction of California condors in Northern California Footage collected will also be used in interpretive content planned for a new visitor center north of Orick CA Photo by Len Necefer

CS4A4820 - LightHawk — This population of California condors have a home range in the Redwood National and State Park Our flight allowed the film crew to gather imagery depicting the point of view of a condor as they travel through the range Photo by Len Necefer

The imagery and video collected during the flight will be used in Natives Outdoors documentary as well as in interpretive content planned for a new visitor center north of Orick, California.

LightHawk is excited to partner with Natives Outdoors to capture this unique perspective on California condors. This flight contributes to a better understanding of these endangered birds and the need to protect their natural and historic habitats.