Storks, Leylek, Adiba - bringer of babies (maybe)

Whatever you call them they are fascinating large birds to those of us who don't normally see

them.

Storks are a common sight across Turkey between April and September. turkey is a stopover point between the birds’ winter quarters in Africa (we have seen them in December on the city walls of Morocco where they return from the Atlas Mountains to their nests around 6 pm local time each night. Curiously some information sites say that storks mate of life others say this is not so, but they are monogamous. Around thirty thousand breeding pairs are believed to visit Turkey, often returning to the same nest year after year to raise new chicks.

Both Christian and Islamic beliefs consider storks lucky, in Turkish they are known as “pilgrim birds” in Turkish, they are rarely harmed. In some areas of Turkey special platforms are built I additions to the storks’ favorite nesting perches, which range from chimneys and minarets to utility poles.

Locally we have storks not too far away and one of greatest delights this year from our first Sunday time out in our lock down release on 10^th May, we watched the local storks nest for signs of young. Currently we’re waiting to see them fly. They seem to be lazy lot, but perhaps we just miss the flying sessions and maybe one day we’ll get the nest and they’ll be gone.

Some technical info on Storks here -  The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. It has a length of 100–115 cm (39–45 in), and a standing height of 100–125 cm (39–49 in). The wingspan is 155–215 cm (61–85 in) and its weight is 2.3–4.5 kg (5.1–9.9 lb). Like all storks, it has long legs, a long neck and a long straight pointed beak. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The adult has a bright red beak and I’ve always know them to have red legs the local ones just appear to be slightly red, but maybe they don’t eat sufficient carotenoids to be very red locally, in contrast to the duller beaks of young white storks elsewhere

Storks are carnivores, eating a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

When they hatch, the young white storks are partly covered with short, sparse, whitish down feathers. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and flight feathers. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip. By the time it fledges, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip. The bills gain the adults' red colour the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.

 

Some technical info on storks here - The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. It has a length of 100–115 cm (39–45 in), and a standing height of 100–125 cm (39–49 in). The wingspan is 155–215 cm (61–85 in) and its weight is 2.3–4.5 kg (5.1–9.9 lb). Like all storks, it has long legs, a long neck and a long straight pointed beak. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The adult has a bright red beak and I’ve always known them to have red legs the local ones just appear to be slightly red, but maybe they don’t eat sufficient carotenoids to be very red locally, in contrast to the duller beaks of young white storks elsewhere

Storks are carnivores, eating a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, hatching 33–34 days after being laid, but not all at the same time. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

When they hatch, the young white storks are partly covered with short, sparse, whitish down feathers. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and flight feathers. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip. By the time it fledges, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip. The bills have the adults' red color the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.