Number 23

Living so close to the Grand Canyon enables me to get up there for a quick weekend.  I was set up on one side of Pima point trying to capture the sun as it was skipping off the top of some rocks and a juniper clinging to the cliff edge.  It all happened so quickly, but suddenly a California Condor emerged from the depths, buzzed our heads and promptly jetted off into the sky.  I had fired off two shots with a wide angle, then recomposed with a zoom as he was getting away.  There were other people there that were lucky enough to get close-ups with their zooms, and after sharing each others images we soon realized which condor we had captured.
Number 23,  identified by the wing-tag, is the hero of the California Condor Restoration Project. Along with his mate, they were the first released condors to successfully raise a chick on their own.

 The larger version: HERE  you can see more clearly 23 emerging out of the canyon into the last rays of day.

For more information, history, back-story and images see my new blog post: Number 23

Thanks for looking and any comments!

D800e 24mm f6.3 1/50s iso250