14.06.2004

Internet Storks drop Young One

Shortage of Food probable Cause

On June 14th, a parent stork "adjusted" the number of young ones at the Vetschau stork eyrie. The smallest chick, Afri, the darling of many stork friends was grabbed with the beak and thrown over the side of the nest. The impact on the street led to an instant death.

The result was a reduction in the number of young ones as in previous years. A marked difference in their individual developments had already occurred. The older ones grew visibly faster than the youngest. Because the first three had hatched at intervals of one day and the last one at four days, the development was quite different from the outset. All four would only have survived if sufficient and beak-suitable food was available. In addition, the parent storks brought large food chunks already, which the smallest chick could not swallow. Consequently it did not get enough nourishment and fell behind in its development.

So only three young ones remain with the Internet Storks. They are in good health and the parent storks look after them well. We hope that no more young storks will be thrown out. This cannot be discounted, however.

Why do the parent storks kill a young one on one hand and care for the next generation so sacrificially? It is only an apparent contradiction. We humans find this to be gruesome, however, in nature this behaviour serves to preserves the specie. Shortage of food forces them to do it. When the nourishment biotope is not productive, the parent storks "adjust" the number of young. With this they ensure the survival of the others. The young ones have to be fledglings by the middle of August and have developed by the late summer sufficiently to handle the long flight to the winter quarters in Africa. The events at the Vetschau stork nest show anew. A mature stork requires 18 ozs. (500 g) per day. A stork couple with three young ones will have to gather 500 lbs. of worms, beetles, insects, mice, frogs, moles or snakes during one breeding season. For this storks need an intact well structured nourishment biotope. In permanent green areas, wetlands, brooks and rivers, field wooded groves, and fish ponds they find their nourishment. In drained or large intensively used agricultural areas nourishment animals can hardly develop. The chemical club does the rest and leads to the destruction of many species and impoverishment of the environment.

Off and on stork friends suggest that we add to the food of the young ones in order for all to become fledglings. The question of additional feeding we have discussed at NABU, Regional Association Calau, and discarded: In Brandenburg, the stork richest land of the German Federation, 1350 stork couples breed. Most lands have the problem of shortage of food. The reproduction rate in Germany stands at 2.3 to 2.5 young ones per breeding couple. Poland's rate for purposes of comparison stands at more than 3. We cannot feed additionally in all places but must created biotpoes more in line with nature. This is the only practicable solution to secure the future of storks. In addition we gather scientific knowledge at Vetschau/Spree Forest. For this reason we have decided not to interfere with the events in nature and but to show and document the life of wild storks. The findings are important to be able to draw the necessary conclusions for the protection of storks.

Winfried Boehmer
Nabu-Project-Leader

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