Baby California condor spotted near Arizona-Utah line

VERMILION CLIFFS, Ariz. – A baby California condor has been spotted in far northern Arizona.

The Peregrine Fund says one of its biologists confirmed the nestling last week at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

It’s the first hatching of a bird in the wild during the current breeding season. The Peregrine Fund says the condor likely is two months old.

California condors are making a comeback in the wild three decades after they were on the brink of extinction.

The first birds raised in captivity were released at Vermilion Cliffs near the Arizona-Utah line in 1996.

As of December, more than 88 were flying in Arizona and Utah.

Baby condors typically make their first flight after six months but might stay in the nesting area for up to a year.