January 7, 2026

Getting Fluffy
Lee’s Ferry, Arizona
2025

This isn’t the most exciting photo of a California Condor by a long shot. But it’s the only California Condor I’ve ever seen  in the wild and the only one I’ve ever photographed. I do like the fluffy plumage, puffed up to help it keep warm while dosing under a bridge on a cold January morning. We did wait around a while to see if it would decide to fly out over the canyon, but its nap time outlasted us and lacking our own fluffy plumage (i.e. no down coats at the time) we retreated to the van’s warm interior.