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Redwood Son (665) was given to Beak Boy (168) and female condor, Solo (208), as a foster egg. These spectacular parents are very close, and took excellent care of Redwood Son (665) until they hit an unintended snag. Good condor parents try to find fragments of bone and seashells to bring back to their chick in the nest. The calcium in these items is essential for the chick's bone growth so that they grow up healthy and sturdy. Unfortunately, condors have trouble distinguishing man-made pieces of trash from their target items. During routine entries by our filed crew into Redwood Son (665)'s nest, it became clear on multiple occasions that "micro-trash" was a problem. Biologists found small trash items in the redwood tree cavity that served as his nest and even felt some trash in his crop (including a bottle cap and glass). Alarmingly, we have found buttons, pull-tabs from cans, screws, metal washers, and other man-made trash items in a number of condor nests. Sadly, some chicks have died from ingesting these items, so it is very important to pick up trash in the wild, no matter how small, whether it belongs to you or others.
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Despite the micro-trash hazards of his days as a chick, Redwood Son (665) has been doing well along the Big Sur coast. He stuck around his natal redwood forest territory quite a bit for the first several months of his life, hence his nickname, Redwood Son (665). As time progressed, he began to explore more of Big Sur and eventually paired with female condor, Loner (311). Tragically, Loner (311) died of lead poisoning in 2021, but Redwood Son (665) remains a top contender for a potential mate. While there aren’t many unpaired females in the flock for him to breed with at this time, Redwood Son (665) continues to strut his stuff on the Big Sur coast and is often seen displaying to other condors on our explore.org Big Sur Sanctuary Cam.