Storks in nests are already quite big, but nature has its laws – accidents happen and a lot of chicks fall out of the nest.
Storks in nests are already quite big, but nature has its laws – accidents happen and a lot of chicks fall out of the nest. White storks lay up to 5 eggs and often already at the incubation stage they can predict how many chicks they will be able to feed. According to the stories we hear from the residents of Podlasie, parents are throwing eggs away as early as April, but if there is not enough food in the next months the weakest chicks are also thrown out of the nest. Farmers know these bird practices and predict the abundance of their crops according to storks’ behavior.
As part of the project "Protection of white stork in the river valleys of eastern Poland”, we have obtained funding for the renovation of bird rehabilitation centers in Grzędy in the Biebrza National Park and in Drozdowo at the headquarters of the Łomża Landscape Park of the Narew Valley. In the pictures you see a chick that fell out of the nest and fortunately did not suffer any injuries. This one and other birds brought to the center are taken care of by ŁPKDN employees. Storks tolerate stays in such bird hospitals well, they have no problems with eating and at the end of summer become independent enough to fly away with other birds.
Sometimes a little stork falls out of the nest by accident, maybe some other chicks wriggle too much. When such a chick is put back in the nest, it is accepted by the parents. Unfortunately, we never know when a chick falls out by accident and when it is simply thrown out of the nest. In Masuria, a few years ago, there was a successful case of adoption of chicks. During a storm a stork nest was destroyed and 3 chicks did not survive. The adult storks, however, immediately started to rebuild the nest, the PTOP workers built them a new platform, in two days the birds gathered the material and had a new nest, but without any chicks. After a brief thought, two orphaned little storks from the Albatros center in Bukwałd were put in the new nest and... adopted by the stork couple – here you can find a full description of this story:
https://www.facebook.com/133491976815718/media_set/?set=a.328302450668002.
