Without wishing to encourage navigation away from this blog, but feeling sorry for those of you with severe withdrawal symptoms, try this Polish website at: http://www.bocianyonline.pl/kamery_en.html
which has links to 39 webcams throughout Europe, nearly all set up on white stork nests.
My favourite however is Number 38 (see photo), the only web cam set up on a black stork nest in Estonia, a country still full of rich wildlife habitat. There is streaming video plus sound. The three chicks have grown fast since I last looked about 10 days ago when they were all white. The weather looked pretty awful this morning, as it was here (though this afternoon the sun has come out in Derby at last!).
What a contrast to our peregrine chicks! These youngsters have very long legs, sharp, pointed beaks and of course they are in a huge nest made of sticks and moss and built by their parents. Black storks are summer migrants to Europe and, with luck, these young will soon be flying south with their parents to winter in Africa, though they'll face numerous hazards along the way.
P.s. Whereas white storks nest close to (and usually on top of) human settlements as you will see, black storks are much rarer and very secretive birds. They nest deep in forests or in caves on cliffs, sites which are usually impossible to locate...so watching this nest is a real treat!
Enjoy it while you can!
4 comments:
Cute as bunnies. And the wind rocking the nest like a cradle. Not as cute as the Derby falcons :-) but still... Thanks.
I don't know how far away the bird is in this still from a few minutes ago, so I have no sense of scale - one of the falcons? or somebody else?
http://members.cox.net/katkolling/whozat.jpg
7.46pm B.C. time, I see one of the falcons on the ledge just below the nesting box!
Well done all. I am having withdrawal systems. Missing our Derby girls. Looking forward to the same next year. Carol (Derby)
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