Storks in Wensickendorf: Fight for survival for the last chick!

Storks in Wensickendorf: Fight for survival for the last chick!

in Wensickendorf, a small town near Oranienburg, is currently all about a pair of stork that has to cope with the exceptional challenges when rearing his youngest chick. As parents, they bring food, including a mouse, and alternate. Of the originally five eggs, there is only one chick that has been weaker since birth than his siblings. This situation is particularly worrying, as the stork representative Roland Heigel reports, since hunger and lack of food represent larger topics this year. The current high temperatures and the dry floors mean that it is difficult for the storks to find enough earthworms and food, which affects the breeding of the chicks. In the event of a shortage of food, there can even be a drastic measure that storks throw their own boys out of the nest or eat what has already been documented this year. In Wensickendorf, two eggs were removed from the nest, in addition to another incident in which a male injured a chick, so that it had to be treated veterinarian.

The breeding season for storks that many observe from the home balcony is also a real wire rope act between life and survival. According to maz-online.de this year the existence of stork boys is far behind the previous year with around 90 Young birds back. Heigel also informs that the storks move south in groups of ten to 15 animals and cover a long journey there to spend the winter in African countries such as Mali, Senegal and South Africa. After two to three years of sexual maturity, they return to Europe to prepare the next breeding season.

The challenges of the stork people

Not only the storks in Wensickendorf fight with food intake. The food supply in the surrounding areas is severely affected by drought and the consequences of intensive agriculture, which also affects the storks in other breeding areas. According to NABU Oranienburg, it is essential that the habitats are preserved and protected so that storks will continue to have a chance in the future. The greatest dangers for the storks are nutrient -poor soils, use of pesticides and the loss of their natural habitats.

But there are also bright spots: Heigel and his colleagues try to help the storks with sustainable practices. In Brandenburg, around 40 supervisors take care of the white storks to ensure that their population remains stable. A new webcam in Wensickendorf also allows animal lovers at home to follow the action on the Horst live - a real profit for all nature lovers.

A look over the borders

In Lower Saxony, it is discussed whether feeding from wild storks should be allowed, which encounters shared opinions among animal rights activists and volunteer stork supervisors. Helmut Eggers, a regional representative for stork protection, expresses concerns that the storks could possibly deteriorate. The discussion about protecting the storks is not new, but there are problems that we cannot ignore: A suitable strategy is needed to promote the stocks sustainably and at the same time protect the habitat.

summarized, the living conditions for the storks are making a challenge this year. When insight into the still existing problems and the efforts for a solution, it remains to be hoped that the crowds of stork will soon slide over our meadows in full splendor.