White stork

Latin Ciconia ciconia (L.)
Estonian Valge-toonekurg

Also known as: no known names

Status in Estonia

Breeding bird.

Description

The white stork is a large bird with long neck and legs. The plumage is white, with black tips on the wings and red legs and beak.

Size

Body length 95–110 cm, wingspan 183–217 cm, body mass 2.3–4.4 kg.

Similar species

Common crane, black stork.

Distribution

The nominate species of the white stork breeds mostly throughout Europe. The Central European population ranges from Germany to Western Russia and from Estonia to the Mediterranean Sea, while the Western European population primarily borders the Iberian Peninsula. It also breeds in North Africa (from Morocco to Tunisia) and Western Asia (from Turkey to Iran). The nominate species winters in Central and Southern Africa. The white stork is a common breeding bird on mainland Estonia, particularly in Southeast and Southern Estonia.

Population

Estonia has 4500–5500 breeding pairs.

Occurrence in Estonia

It arrives in Estonia mostly in April and departs in the second half of August or September. Very few individuals may stay for the winter.

Diet

It eats anything that is smaller than itself, including earthworms, insects, mice, moles, frogs, fish and snakes.

Habitat

The white stork nests almost exclusively in cultivated landscapes close to humans. It is a bird that is completely devoted to its nest and takes awhile to establish itself in a new area.

Nesting

The white stork has always relied on humans when choosing a nest site: it nests primarily on roofs, chimneys or nesting platforms built in trees. In Estonia, white storks are increasingly building their nests atop electric poles. It lays 2–5 eggs and incubation lasts for 30 days. On average, 2–3 young grow up in the nest. Both male and female birds incubate the eggs and provide food for their young. The chicks normally develop the ability to fly in early August and after a few weeks, they begin to forage for food independently.

Conservation status and protection

The white stork belongs to the protected species of category III. Agricultural intensification and pesticide usage are seen as the major threats across the entire distribution area. It is also threatened by road traffic and electricity lines and Western Europe’s population is rapidly declining as a result of urbanisation and industrial expansion. Every year, a number of chicks die from the collapse of deteriorated nest platforms. As a large and strong bird, it has no natural enemies; nevertheless, larger eagles may occasionally attack the nest.

Distribution and population in Lääne County

The white stork is a common breeding bird in Lääne County. Only a few of these birds may be found in the county’s northern region, where extensive wetlands and large forested areas are unsuited for nesting. They also avoid nesting on peninsulas that reach far into the sea.
In Matsalu National Park, white storks are more common in the villages and communities around the bay’s southern side. They frequently make their nests on electric poles or the chimneys of old buildings. When the hay is cut in the flood-meadow in the middle of the summer, dozens of white storks gather to eat there.