Scientists are monitoring white storks in the United Kingdom in hopes of understanding their migratory habits lost some 600 years ago.
Following the release of 19 young storks, bred in captivity, at Knepp Estates, West Sussex in the UK, scientists from the University of East Anglia, together with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, monitored them. Global positioning system (GPS) trackers were fitted on eight of the storks released - aiming to follow their migratory habits.
The tracking devices were developed by Movetech Telemetry, together with UEA, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the University of Porto in Portugal. Eight other storks were fitted with the same GPS trackers back in a trial run in 2019.
HORSHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 27: A White Stork tends to chicks (three in total) in a nest on May 27, 2020, in Horsham, England. The birds are one of several breeding pairs in an area of Horsham and the first to have chicks. The last hatchlings recorded in the UK, were on the roof of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, in 1416. The White Stork project, who have been monitoring the birds, hope to restore a population in southern England to around 50 breeding pairs by 2030.
Following The White Storks' Migration Patterns
The released birds, with their trackers, are expected to offer researchers insight about their life and migratory patterns. White storks, known to be amenable even around humans, usually feed on agricultural lands. They are also known to build their nests in trees, though some have made their home on chimneys and even power lines.
According to Dr. Aldina Franco, ecology associate professor at UEA, reintroducing storks in Britain will provide "ecological and cultural value," adding that the restoration of the charismatic species is a "fantastic achievement." She explained that there are no experienced migratory birds native to Britain, pinning their hopes that the captive-bred and released storks will travel and return home in the following spring.
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European storks, also known as white storks, commonly migrate in groups to Southern Europe and Africa during autumn. As soon as they arrive in Germany, storks usually diverge to follow eastern and western migratory routes.
Franco explained that in the past, white storks from Britain most probably took the western route white those from Poland followed the eastern migratory way. "In Southern Europe, some populations are no longer migratory and spend the whole year near the breeding area," she added.
Data From Surviving Storks
According to a press release from UEA, previously unpublished data from the trial showed that most of their test storks spend the previous winter at landfill sites at Southern Europe and Northern Africa, following traditional migratory routes but adapting to the changing environment, gather food, and gather in large musters.
On the other hand, the recently released storks show passing through Continental Europe through the Dover Strait, or Dover-Calais. Of the eight new white storks, three are in Spain and thriving on local landfill sites, two of them in France, and one remained in the UK. One stork, unfortunately, died in the UK while one of the storks in France no longer updates its location - prompting the researchers to investigate with help from local contacts.
"There is a high level of excitement and anticipation after deploying the tracking devices," Franco said in the press release. "We don't know what the birds will do or if they will survive the migration."
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She also explained how the team members had different theories about the routes the storks will take - some said that they will remain in the UK, some thought they'll take the western route, while others believed they'll take the eastern route - with some storks taking each of the predicted outcomes.
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