SPECIES SPOTLIGHT WHITE STORK
SCIE NT I FI C NAME Ciconia ciconia WEIG H T 2.3–4.5 kg T OP SPEED 110 km/h WINGS PAN Approx. 165cm ALT IT U D E Can reach a height of 4,800 metres during migration, making it one of the highestflying birds in the world. DIET They are omnivores with a varied and opportunistic diet. They seek out small mammals, earthworms, snails, crickets, and other large insects in water-meadows, grasslands, and arable fields.
T H E BI R D B EHI ND T H E LEGEND Mention the word “stork” to anyone in Britain and the image that jumps to mind will likely be of a large, majestic white bird carrying in its beak a baby wrapped in a cloth bundle. This image plucked straight from the pages of mythology could well be the only one many people have of this once abundant bird, which is now a rare sight in the UK. In 1416, the last known breeding pair of white storks in Britain were recorded nesting on St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. Since then, there have been no confirmed records of a pair breeding in the wild. Evidence suggests that these spectacular birds were once widespread across the British Isles. Why they failed to survive is unclear, but it was most likely a combination of habitat loss, over-hunting and targeted persecution. Now, more than 600 years later, we are working alongside private landowners and conservation organisations to return storks as a breeding bird in Britain.
LIFE IN THE PENTHOUSE Outside of the UK, white storks are a familiar sight throughout central and southern Europe and are often found living close to people. Nesting storks are hard to miss as their large, bulky nests stand up to 30m above the ground. They nest either solitarily or in loose colonies of up to 30 pairs, with individuals often returning to the same nest sites each year. In some regions, such as Cheshinovo-Obleshevo in North Macedonia, silhouettes of the birds standing tall on nests built on telegraph poles, pylons, trees, and rooftops dominate the skyline. In many of these “stork villages”, people have a close connection with the birds, and many consider them to be a sign of good luck. Some people even go as far as to erect cartwheels and platforms onto their roofs to actively encourage them to nest.
A GREAT MIGRATION In 1822, near the German village of Klütz, an astonishing discovery was made – a stork was found with an arrow embedded in its neck. The fact that it had somehow managed to survive the attack was only part of the mystery surrounding the bird. The weapon was identified as being a kind found only in central Africa. Up until that point, very little was known about bird migration, this discovery was one of several which provided early evidence that birds could migrate over large distances.
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Each year, as winter begins to descend over Europe, white storks fly south in spectacular flocks, which can number into the thousands. They take to the skies by day and come down to roost in trees and open country by night. Most individuals migrating from Europe and North Africa will eventually end up in sub-Saharan Africa. Using their large wings, they soar on rising warm air currents reaching altitudes exceeding 1,500 metres and glide over vast distances. As these warm currents only form over land, they cannot migrate across large bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean Sea. Individuals travelling from Europe diverge through the Bosporus in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west. Sadly, their journey is not without its dangers. Exhausted birds often collide with overhead powerlines and shooting along their migration route still poses a threat to the species.
