Israel seeing early flocks of migrating storks amid hot European summer

After heading south from Poland, stork seen nesting in Beit She'an Valley, the only known nesting site below sea level

By AP and MICHAEL BACHNERToday, 12:25 am 1

White storks that have nested in Poland are heading south for the winter earlier than usual after an especially hot, dry summer — a development experts are linking to climate change — and some have already been observed in Israel, which is a major migration route on the birds’ route to Africa.

In a rare case that has stoked Israeli ornithologists’ excitement, a stork has been observed over the last month nesting at the Beit She’an Valley, the only known nesting site in the world for storks located below sea level.

The valley is the one of the hottest areas in Israel, with temperatures regularly reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer — another unusual feature for a stork nesting site.

“White storks normally just fly through Israel,” ornithologist Nadav Israeli of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel told the Walla news site. “About 500,000 storks pass Israel in every migration season. However, a small nesting population has in recent decades established itself in the Golan Heights, where some 15 couples nest annually.”

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White Stork from reintroduction scheme in Italy, shot in Malta on first migration

BY GOZO NEWS · SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Update: BirdLife Malta has discovered that the flock of ten White Storks that has been in Malta since Monday includes storks from a conservation reintroduction project in Italy.

“The flock was targeted on Tuesday in Marsa, with one of the birds killed bearing a colour numbered ring. The White Stork is part of a flock originating from a re-introduction scheme set-up in Udine, North East Italy, and was on its first ever migration south to the Africa.”

When the White Storks arrived on the mainland from Comino on Monday, they landed on a crane in Marsa, attracting many local bird watchers and photographers.

BLM said that 3 of the flock were seen to have coloured rings on their legs, a process carried out to monitor the birds’ movements from a distance. Birdwatchers, using telescopes, were able to read the details on two of the rings, IAB PA190 and IAB PA200, the details of which were sent to the Italian ringing scheme to confirm the origin of the birds.

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Thrigby Hall nesting white storks 'fail to breed'

2 August 2014 Last updated at 09:07

A pair of storks that sparked hopes of producing the UK's first chicks in a traditional nest for 600 years have failed to breed, experts said.

The white storks made their home on a chimney at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens near Great Yarmouth in March.

But despite signs of mating rituals, the centre says it has not seen chicks.

The last record of white storks successfully breeding in a nest in Britain was at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, in 1416.

Thrigby Hall manager Scott Bird, said the pair could be preparing their nest for the next breeding season.

'Lot of activity'

The birds are part of the collection at the wildlife gardens, which has been trying to get storks to nest for many years.

White storks in the wild often breed in continental Europe, migrating to southern Europe and Africa in winter.

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Thrigby Hall nesting storks may end 600-year wait

A pair of white storks nesting in Norfolk could be the first in the UK to breed from a traditional nest for nearly 600 years.

The birds are nesting on a chimney at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens near Great Yarmouth and are involved in mating rituals, experts say.

The white stork breeds in continental Europe, migrating to Africa in winter.

The last record of storks breeding in Britain was at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, in 1416.

Ken Sims, director of the wildlife gardens said: "We gave the storks a helping hand by building a structure for their nest on the hall's front chimney.

"But they turned their back on our handiwork and have built their own nest on one of the rear stacks."

He said he thought the female stork was on the point of laying and they had been watching them mate.

"The beaks are used like clappers and they throw their heads back," he said.

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Terrible year for white storks in Czech Republic as cold weather kills a generation

Very few storks fledged in 2013 - If any

July 2013. White storks suffered their worst breeding year on record in the Czech Republic, as the cold weather put paid to nearly a whole generation. Almost all of the chicks that did hatch didn't survive the severe weather which prevailed in Bohemia just as the birds were nesting.

Czech conservationists monitor the population of white storks at 285 sites across 25 districts of the Czech Republic annually. In 15 of the monitored districts there were 80 percent fewer chicks than last year and in 10 districts no chicks survived at all! To make matters even worse, it is very unlikely that the few chicks that have survived this far are unlikely to fledge successfully. The final assessment of this calamitous situation with nesting will be carried out in the autumn.

These findings are part of the annual study, undertaken by the Czech Union for Nature Conservation on mapping and protection of white storks. The study covers a wide range of aspects, including ringing, mapping, diet, and their response to climate and human influences.

Interesting discoveries. 

The study found that adult storks will protect their chicks by spreading their wings to protect them from strong sun or heavy rain; interestingly, although storks are considered strict carnivores, some vegetation was found in the stomachs of some of the dead chicks, according to Stanislav Chvapil, senior program supervisor.

Equally important is the fact that the storks preferred nesting spots, such as chimneys, roofs, towers and tall trees, are all gradually declining. In some places, where the natural nests were destroyed, artificial nesting platforms have been erected.

Monitoring nesting and care of the nests of white storks are some of the more than two hundred projects supported under the National Programme ČSOP biodiversity conservation.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/czech-storks013.html

White storks have stopped migrating - New project to discover why?

Portuguese white storks now rely on rubbish dumps instead of migrating

February 2013. A new project to find out why storks are changing their migratory patterns has been launched by the University of East Anglia. In folklore, storks' strong white wings would carry babies to parents around the world. But since the mid 1980s increasing numbers of storks have stopped their annual migration from Northern Europe to Africa for the winter. Instead, many are living in Spain and Portugal the whole year round - feeding on ‘junk food' from rubbish dumps.

Climate change?
The project will track 15 adult white storks for a year using GPS loggers to investigate why they have changed their migratory behaviour. Researchers will investigate the link between climate change and feeding habits to predict future distribution of the species.

The birds have been caught in Portugal and tagged with loggers which will transmit five positions every day. This data will allow researchers to track the storks' movement between roosting and feeding areas and detect long and short distance flights. Each tracker will also collect information about how much time the birds spend with their heads down, foraging for food.

Dr Aldina Franco, from UEA's school of Environmental Sciences, is leading the project. She said: "These birds have changed their behaviour very radically. The number of storks spending their winter in Portugal has increased hugely from around 1,180 birds in 1995 to more than 10,000 in 2008 and numbers continue to grow."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/white-stork-migration.html