The White Stork at camp

White storks perched in a tree nearby

 

Once a year, if we're lucky, our camp and surrounding area will be a stop over for migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia). On December 15th 2018 and January 13th 2019 we had big groups of storks stopping over for one night, presumably on their way back to Europe. This past week I saw a large group that roosted in our backyard, always a treat for us!

There is a delightful story about humans learning about stork. migration. In 1822, one White Stork helped put an end to this mystery. The bird landed near the German village of Klütz with a 30-inch spear through its neck. The spear was discovered to be made from African wood, meaning this stork must have traveled between the continents.

Storks flying high