26.07.2002

"Our" Young Storks are flying - most dangerous Part of their Lives begins

"Our" young storks diligently practice and lift higher and higher off the eyrie. During the upcoming days they will start on their first trip around the nest. With this the brood period of the storks will come to a close - the storks are fledglings. The first excursions are a dangerous phase of their lives, for they are still awkward, miss a landing spot or bump against obstacles. During flights to feeding areas, places of assembly and during migration they frequently land on dangerous powerline poles to rest and to stay over night. Electrocution at middle voltage powerpoles will again cost many young storks their lives. Unfortunately electrocution is still the most common cause of deaths of storks and other bird species.

Fortunately, though, the struggle through decades by the members of the Nature Protection Federation for bird proctection regulations at powerlines is paying off. The new federal nature protection law of the Red-Green Coalition Government contains a bird protection paragraph. Henceforth, only bird-friendly power poles may be erected, and the current dangerous ones have to be retrofitted to meet safety specifications within 10 years (see also "Dangers for storks"). This law will surely have an impact on other countries at the conference of signatory states to the migrating birds agreement.

However, we in Vetschau and with us the large Internet community of www.storchennnest.de hope that "our" young storks will weather their first excursions without coming to harm, and will give us opportunities until the middle of August to observe them at the eyrie. At the end of August they will have to be fit for their long trek to the winter quarters in Africa.

W. Böhmer

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