The Stork
The white stork (ciconia ciconia) or european stork
The stork
The white stork (or ciconia ciconia) or European stork
Appearance
White storks (ciconia ciconia), or European storks, belong to the family called Ciconiidae. Their plumage is white, with black feathers on the wings. In adult specimens the legs and pointed bill are red.
Numbers
Length: 100-115 cm from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail
Wingspan: 155-215 cm
Number of eggs per clutch: 4, annual clutch
Hatching time: asynchronous, 33-34 days after the eggs are laid
Fledging: 58-64 days
Parental nourishment: 65-90 days
Habitat
Storks nest in Europe, from Finland to the Mediterranean, in north-western Africa and south-western Asia; then in winter they migrate from the sub-Saharan area to the southern regions of South Africa and the Indian continent. The migratory routes do not fly over the Mediterranean, since the thermal currents exploited by these birds do not form over large bodies of water.
Behaviour
Storks are monogamous. Both partners contribute to creating their nest, weaving thin sticks together; these nests can be used for several reproductive cycles. Both the male and the female, in turns, take care of the eggs until they hatch and then they both feed the young.
Diet
Storks are carnivorous and they feed on various types of animals: insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. Hunting takes place on land, in low vegetation and shallow waters.
Animal at risk
The white stork is rated as a species of least concern in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list of threatened species. From the Middle Ages until the 19th century the species was present throughout Europe, but then habitat loss due to changes in agriculture caused a progressive population decline. Between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the present century, thanks to conservation programs to reintroduce the species, numbers have recovered and white storks breed again in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
Reintroduction program
The first project of reintroduction of the white stork in Europe was carried out in 1955 in Altreu, in Switzerland, by the passionate ornithologist Max Bloesch; after several attempts, his experiment was crowned with success. Today there are over 140 pairs of nesting storks in Switzerland.
The French region of Alsace followed in Switzerland's footsteps and today, thanks to the activity of about twenty specialized centres, the stork population, which had dramatically declined, has been restored. Italy followed in 1985 with the creation of the first centre, modelled after the Swiss one, in Racconigi, in Piedmont; managed by the LIPU (Italian Bird Protection League), it was based on a project by the ornithologist Fabio Perco. After the success of the reintroduction program in Piedmont, Perco looked for a suitable place for the establishment of a second experimental station in Italy which could serve as a base for the reintroduction of the species in the north-east of the country. He found a suitable habitat for the species in the Quadris Nature Reserve in Fagagna, as the structures of the avifaunistic centre could offer shelter to the storks in the first phase of the project. He proposed his plan to the Friuli Venezia Giulia Hill Community and to the Municipality of Fagagna and he was responsible for starting and following the White Stork Project. Our reintroduction centre was officially started in December 1989, with the first 11 storks – five donated by the province of Pavia and 6 donated by Max Bloesch – and two young specimens saved from a nest that had been abandoned that year in Dignano, a small town about 15 kilometres from Fagagna, by a pair of wild storks.
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First phase
The first phase of the reintroduction project aimed at establishing a local population of the species. Young storks were kept in protected places and prevented from flying until they reached sexual maturity. After a period of two or three years they lost the migratory instinct and, once mated, they remained in the breeding site, also in winter.
At first the Fagagna centre followed the Swiss model: the storks were kept in a large aviary, with two-metre-high fences, and the primary and secondary flight feathers of their wings were clipped. This treatment had to be repeated before the next moult, but it did not always work and some specimens were able to fly away and, being uncertain in their flight, they were in danger. This practice was abandoned to reduce losses and the example of the centre in Alsace was followed: the young storks were kept in closed aviaries until they reached maturity and then they were released.
This, in any case, was only a transitional phase, the main objective being the establishment of a natural local population. Previous experiences had shown that, when a sedentary population becomes large and it is no longer possible to support it artificially, the birds recover their migratory instinct in winter and that a settled group of birds can attract passing birds of the same species. This is what happened in our centre: on some occasions wild storks stopped here along their routes, attracted by their peers (one in May 1991, one in April and one in July 1993).
Second phase
Once the number of fifty specimens was reached, the second phase of the reintroduction project began: the newborn birds were left free to fly, so they could migrate towards their winter destinations. The various European experiences have shown that the young born in the centres return to their birthplace to nest.
The first phase started in 1989 with 11 adult specimens and in a few years there were 50 of them. The first nesting and the first birth occurred in 1990, followed by two births in 1991, four in 1992 and eight births both in 1993 and 1994. Furthermore, storks from Switzerland and Poland joined the group. The experience was not without difficulties, unexpected events and small failures: in the first years some storks died, in accidents outside the centre enclosure or from other causes, especially in winter, as these birds are frail.
When the White Stork Project started, the Municipality of Fagagna was in charge of its management and an employee had the task of looking after and feeding the birds. Since the beginning, however, the project has been supported by a group of volunteers who assist the municipal staff in the various tasks.
To guarantee the future survival of the local population of storks two conditions are required: the conservation of all biotopes (?) where passing wild birds can stop and feed, especially of the wet areas (marsh areas, wet meadows, peat bogs, resurgence springs) and the support of the people who live in Fagagna.