The White Stork Rises

Ok, so just like Batman, the white storks of Alsace have risen!! In Alsace, France, the white stork symbolizes the whole nation and you can see their huge nests on so many roofs of houses, churches, hotels, everywhere!

Picture of baby storks in their nest. Yes, they are pretty big babies but they still can't fly and rely on their caregivers for food.

In 1960, the rate of decline of wild storks was so high that if something hadn't been done, they would have gone completely extinct. To put this into perspective for you, in 1983 there were only 3 nesting pairs left. In 1976, the Storks Reintroduction Center opened to protect this beautiful bird species.

An adult stork marching through the center.

They discovered that their disappearance was due to death by electrocution, drought, hunting and pesticides during their migration. Because of this, the center decided to try removing their migratory instinct by hand feeding and keeping baby storks in their aviaries for 3 winters. This removes the instinct to migrate from this generation but their offspring will still have the instinct. By doing this, the center has changed the number from 3 nesting pairs in 1983 to now over 600 nesting pairs in Alsace! This is a huge success!

Two beautiful adult storks high in their nests!

Just a few fun facts about these birds:

• As adults, they stand at about 3.3 to 3.8 feet tall.
• Also as adults, their wingspan is up to 6 feet.
• They can weigh up to 8 or 9 pounds.
• They live 20-25 years.
• They lay 3-5 eggs each time and the incubation period is 1 month.
• They are carnivorous and eat over 40 tons of meat per year at the center!

Until next time!