14.06.2010

The Vetschau young Storks receive Bands

On Friday, June 25 at about 9:00 a.m. our young storks "Klappi", "Twiggy", "Friedrich" and "Paula" will be banded. The banding will be done by Mrs. Katharine Illig of Luckau. She has extensive experience and is licensed to do so. The necessary lifting equipment will be supplied by enviaM.

Interested persons as well as guests to the Spree Forest are cordially invited to experience this activity directly at the White Stork Information Centre of Lower Lusatia in Vetschau Spree Forest. The banding will also be trancmitted live on the Internet. The banding is performed to be able to identify the animals at any time. With this it is possible, for instance, where and with which other stork they breed or how old they are. As already in previous years, the new ELSA-Ring will be used. Less urine acid settles on the legs during chalking of the legs with these rings, and during moist periods potential stickiness is dissolved. This allows for banding above the intertarsal leg joint, not as before at the foot. This banding has a tremendous advantage in that the ring can be seen more easily, and the ring number can be read without problems with a good pair of binoculars. Often the worry arises that the young storks will be frightened and jump out of the nest or the parent storks will leave the young ones after being touched by human hands. Not to worry! In case of threatening danger the young ones press themselves flatly into the nest hollow and remain motionless, head and neck stretched out to the front. This instinctive behaviour, the so-called acinese, feints the loss of movement or rather death and shows with it no provocation to enemies. The bonding of the young with the parent storks is presently so strong, the latter will return to the eyrie after a short time.

Bernd Elsner
Manager
NABU Regional Association Calau e.V.

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