Latvia
is colloquially called the Land of the Storks. The country has six times the number of nesting storks than anywhere else
in Western Europe. Reasons for this are not entirely understood and based more on
speculation than research from what I’ve read. Perhaps it’s just that the
Latvian landscape is so stunning – who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by such
spectacular scenery being a new parent?
Ok, so seriously, this bird prefers
wetlands and marsh areas for its prolific diet of frogs and insects of which
Latvia still has plenty – bogs and bugs. One theory about why the country now
has so many white storks is that after the Ukrainian Chernobyl disaster in 1986
they were forced to find other places to breed after their natural habitat was
destroyed. Hence all Baltic States being the beneficiaries of the blessings
these birds are supposed to bring.
Around
10,000 white storks fly from West Africa to Latvia every year, arriving during
April to set up nest. And when I say nest, I mean something like you see on a
Flintstones cartoon containing pterodactyls. Measuring around six feet deep
(1.8 metres), nine feet wide (2.7 metres) and weighing up to 250 kilograms,
this is not a small feat. Males collect building material such as sticks and
the female places them…nothing wrong with being house proud, ladies.
In the
bigger nest, smaller birds make their homes tucked in the branches – an ornithologist’s
heaven. In the countryside you see nests on top of farm house roofs, church
spires and wooden stands erected specifically for nesting purposes. And, of
course, the chimney, which is where the saying comes from that storks bring new
babies. Also, this type of stork is known to be a monogamous mater and each
year breeding couples return to the same nest. It’s not uncommon to see one
bird minus previous mate spending a solo season in Latvia. They lay between two to six pale coloured eggs then head south
again in August after their young are able to fly, fending off the bitter
winter months.
When
winging back to Chad or Niger from Latvia they take a journey through Romania,
onto the Bosporus to the Gulf of Suez and through the Nile Valley before
reaching their final destination. At around 4500 kilometres, the journey takes
one and a half months.
They
are seen as harbingers of good luck and prosperity so it’s no surprise their
presence here every spring is enthusiastically welcomed. It’s a sign winter has
gone and warmer weather has arrived. Time to make some babies!
