They didn't have to wait a day longer to make the breezy place livable again: no sooner had robert endres, district group chairman of the state association for the protection of birds (LBV), and michael weilnhammer from the church administration in geiselwind, cleared the stork's nest on the geiselwind church of garbage, plastic and moss, than the adebar family moved in again. That was at the beginning of march. In the meantime, the two storks are busy breeding – from above, three eggs can be seen in the nest.
"That is to 90 per cent again the pair from the last year", says endres. Storks are loyal to their location and partners, so they are happy to return to their old nest in pairs. "We are glad that they are back", says weilnhammer, who regularly observes the birds from the roost at the church tower and hopes for a second successful breeding year.
Three storks passing through
At the same time, three vagabond storks have been sighted in the district in the last few days: sometimes in sommerach, sometimes in wiesentheid or munsterschwarzach. "These are not the ones from geiselwind. Their hunting grounds extend as far as the aisch valley, they don't come down that far", explains endres. These three are still looking for nesting sites. Endres fears, however, that they will move on in the next few days. "The food reservoirs in our area are very small. They had a hard time raising offspring."
The district of kitzingen offers too few wet meadows, where they can hunt their snakes, frogs and amphibians. "Due to the land consolidation there is hardly any habitat left for the storks' feeding animals." The straightened creek and the developed main river do not feed marshes, therefore the shallows around the watercourses become dry at the latest with the onset of warm weather. Endres therefore assumes that the animals are more likely to settle in the saale floodplains or in the aischgrund region. There, agriculture is not as prevalent and pond and meadow farming has adapted to the wet meadows. "There the storks have their livelihood. Here the agriculture does not allow it."
Costly preparation
So endres is glad that at least the geiselwinder pair has reappeared and that the costly nest-cleaning operation took place in time. All in all, the preparation cost the LBV 450 euros," says weilnhammer. "We have not only cleaned the nest, but also laid a drainage system so that the water will run off when it rains." Otherwise the eggs could become cold and the brood could die.
That's why the LBV is hoping for a good breeding season, as oda wieding, head of the female stork project, explains. "A few days of continuous rain in may or cold days in june can be problematic for eggs and youngsters." Since the population in bavaria has been increasing for years and the season has started well, the biologist is in good spirits. "We have already been able to record some new settlements, among others in the aischgrund." However, even she hardly believes that another couple will settle down in the district of kitzingen. "The food supply here is not very coarse and the birds can appreciate that." Should a few nevertheless settle, advise the respective municipality to contact robert endres. "Because then the storks may need assistance."
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