For a century, they were gone. But California Condors are making a comeback in these parts of the Bay Area

The elusive and illustrious California Condor is making a major comeback in the Bay Area, stretching its wings in areas where the continent’s largest bird has not been seen for more than a century.

In total, the Ventana Wildlife Society — a group that traps, breeds and rehabilitates the vultures for release into the wild — has tracked 30 different condors that took multiple trips to parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties sometime in the past two years.

“These movements into Alameda County, and even Contra Costa County, are the first to be documented in over 100 years,” Kelly Sorenson, Ventana’s executive director, said in an interview. “It’s not just one bird here and there; it’s the whole flock expanding their range both north and south.”

A 6-year-old male condor, known as #996, ap