BOISE, Idaho — The Peregrine Fund will release California Condors into the wild at the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona on Saturday and some of those birds grew up in Boise at the World Center for Birds of Prey.
The Peregrine Fund has set up a live viewing party at Wild Frontier Beer Project on Cole Road to give people a chance to watch a live stream of the release from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. A dollar from every beer purchase will go to helping raptors and staff from the Peregrine Fund will be on hand to answer any questions.
"We know these birds personally from raising them, we have watched them and we are going to gather a bunch of condor enthusiasts," said Tate Mason of the Peregrine Fund. "We are going to watch a live stream that we have been putting a lot of effort into."
WATCH|Check out the video to see the condors at the World Center for Birds of Prey
The Peregrine Fund started in 1970 with an effort to save the peregrine falcon and it's one of the best conservation stories of all-time. This non-profit has also done the same with condors to save this scavenger from extinction.
"It’s just amazing to be part of the trajectory of the recovery of North America’s largest raptor," said Mason. "The California Condor was down to just 22 individual birds in the whole world in the 1980s, now they are well above 600 and we are about to bolster the population in Arizona with birds from right here in Boise."
The Peregrine Fund started breeding programs and built a facility at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise back in 1993. Lead poisoning from ammunition is the leading cause of death for condors in the wild.
"It's a terrible way to go and also super preventable," said Mason. "We founded the North American Lead Free Partnership, a consortium of pro hunting groups looking to position hunters as the solution."
The release is also a celebration of the work over the last 30 years as the Peregrine Fund has released around 250 condors near the border of Arizona and Utah. The live stream starts at 11:30 a.m. and if you can't make it to the watch party you can watch the release on YouTube.
"Our tech teams and our communication teams have been live streaming the condor release over the years, but the production is just improving every year and we are excited for this year's program," said Mason.
