{"id":682365,"date":"2026-03-26T04:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T04:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/682365\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T04:50:16","slug":"hikers-feel-sudden-rush-of-wind-then-see-a-giant-bird-land-above-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/682365\/","title":{"rendered":"Hikers Feel Sudden Rush Of Wind \u2014 Then See A Giant Bird Land Above Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

While hiking Angel\u2019s Landing in Zion National Park, Jessica Harrington and a group of hikers had an up-close encounter with one of North America\u2019s largest and rarest species.<\/p>\n

And it all began with a rush of wind from overhead.<\/p>\n

\"OverlookingGetty Images\/DC_Colombia<\/a><\/p>\n

As the group made their way up the trail, two California condors<\/a> passed above them \u2014 their nearly 10-foot wingspans stirring the air with surprising force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breeze and energy that we felt as they flew over was really palpable!\u201d Harrington told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

\"TwoGetty Images\/Doug Michaels<\/a><\/p>\n

Moments later, something even more remarkable happened. One of the condors landed on a crag mere feet away from where Harrington and the others were about to pass, putting his majestic form on full display.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was definite reverence in the air, as we were all in awe that this was happening,\u201d Harrington said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe condor sat there as many people cautiously walked past it. It seemed curious of us just as much as we were curious about it,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cThe size was unbelievable. It is very much a creature of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

The condor, one of only a few hundred in the wild, bore a tag that allows researchers to track his movements and behavior.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaJessica Harrington<\/p>\n

Just a few decades earlier, future sightings of California condors were in jeopardy. Due to various harmful human activities, the condor population had collapsed to just 27 individuals in the early 1980s. Thanks to conservation efforts<\/a> put in place to save them, however, their numbers have since rebounded.<\/p>\n

Harrington\u2019s encounter that day serves as a reminder of what was nearly lost.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaGetty Images\/MichaelRLopez<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was by far the highlight of the hike. I know they are rare,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cI feel lucky that it gave me the opportunity to see it up close.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/a>Baby Condor Who Lost Her Mom Finds A New Friend To Help Her HealIt’s a gift of love \u2764\ufe0f<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While hiking Angel\u2019s Landing in Zion National Park, Jessica Harrington and a group of hikers had an up-close…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":682366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[27],"tags":[19528,286743,19258,159,10235,19257,19256,67,132,68,837,28074],"class_list":["post-682365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-birds","tag-condors","tag-daily-dodo","tag-science","tag-standard","tag-stephen-messenger","tag-the-dodo","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-encounters"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116293679781669220","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}