Latvian Black Storks 2015 - Zīle and Ozols

[Felis silvestris]

Black Stork webcam in Latvia

Black Stork webcam nest is located in Zemgale, in region between towns of Jaunjelgava and Jēkabpils and village of Ērberģe. Nest tree is an oak, situated on the bank of small river in an old growth forest. Nest is known for a short time – it was found in year 2013, more exact information about its inhabitants was found out one year later, when two youngsters were raised in it. Observations done near the nest indicated that both of the adults were not ringed, therefore their origin was not known.

This year birds arrived in the nest already at the end of March, when started the building works, supplying the nest crown with new branches and lining the nest bowl in a way typical to this species – with mosses. The same as last year, both adults are not ringed.

Installing and maintaining of this webcam system was supported by LMT (data transfer), Mikrotik (4G routers), LatRosTrans (financial support) and EENET (server in Estonia). Jānis Rudzītis (system configuration), Jānis Kažotnieks, Māris Strazds and Torben Langer assisted during the installation works.
Text by Jānis Ķuze

Google Map of the area



You can watch the cams here:

Direct stream: http://pontu.eenet.ee/player/melnais-starkis.html
VLC player/Android: rtsp://193.40.133.138/live/melnais-starkis
iPhone/iPad: http://193.40.133.138/live/melnais-star ... ylist.m3u8

http://dabasdati.lv/site/kameras/kamera2.html

At the Pontu Archive of EEnet the videos and minute-by-minute pictures can be found:
http://193.40.124.24/2015-melnais-starkis/

The videos can be searched in the index and clicked (open e.g. with VLC player) - be aware, the files are going over several hours and are huge and have to be converted for further use!

For the Pontu pictures use:
http://193.40.124.24/2015-melnais-starkis/2015-04-02/starkis-2015-04-02-11-04.JPG
and change the date (red) for the day and the time (blue) for the time you want to see

(For more help: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=718 + viewtopic.php?f=3&t=740=)

[Felis silvestris]

The Latvian forum named the Storks:

Zīle - for the female, meaning acorn
Ozols - for the male, meaning oak

How to tell them apart (with thanks to lianaliesma and the Latvian forum: http://dabasdati.lv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1177)

[Felis silvestris]

Eggs:

Black Storks have clutches varying between three and seven eggs, four being the average. Eggs are in the beginning lightly green, later pure white, size 66 × 48,5 mm. They are laid at an interval of two days. Incubating ususally starts with the second egg, this is the reason why we see one of the storks standing next to the first egg mostly instead of sitting on the egg already incubating.
Incubation time is between 34 and 38 days. We have seen chicks hatch with intervals, but we have seen them hatch within one day. This must depend on the beginning of incubation and the fertilization of the eggs. In the latter case we had 5 eggs of which 3 chicks hatched.


The first egg arrived some time in the night from 6th to 7th April
The second egg arrived in the night from 8th to 9th April
The third egg arrived in the night from 10th to 11th April
The fourth egg arrived in the night from 12th to 13th April

On April 24 a White-tailed Eagle tried to steal the eggs and in the course of this destroyed 2 of the eggs!
The eagle could be warded off and the storks resumed the breeding. We hope that the remaining two eggs are not damaged and we still can welcome two chicks to the world.

Chicks

The first chick hatched on 11th May around 19:08 EEST
The second chick hatched on May 13th around 5:30 EEST in the morning

[Felis silvestris]

Update June:

The storklets were ringed on June 12. For this the Latvian ornithologists took both storklets out of the nest and lowered them to the ground.
Urmas Lett from EEnet provided a film of the doings on top of the nest, via the Latvian Dabasdati forum we got a film of what happened on the ground.





Summerkid (paldies) provided us with some facts from the film:

Both eggs the WtE dropped were found, one in the night after it happened, and the second while ringing. Both were unbroken. Both will be futher examined, e. g. to find out about DDT and chemicals in the shell.

There is 95% possibility the older storklet is male (and is called Zīļuks) and the younger is female (Zīļuka or Zīlīte) (by measuring the beaks).
These storklets are the earliest known storklets of this year in Latvia and thus have a very good chance to survive (the earlier, the bigger the chance)
The older storklet weighed 2,79 kg, the younger 2,25 kg.

Update July

On July 3 a team of Latvian ornithologists around Māris Strazds paid the nest another visit. The female of the storklets was fitted with a transmitter.
http://dabasdati.lv/lv/article/par-gaid ... raiditaju/








On July 14 just before 11 AM Ziluka slipped on the "parent's branch" and fell down. As she is not yet able to fly and carries a transmitter, a team of LDF came to check on her and put her back into the nest in the late afternoon. (p. 151 onwards in the forum) Before that -
at 16:57 Ziluks took the chance and fledged
Ziluka remained alone on the nest until Ziluks returned to the nest on July 16
July 18 - Ziluka started on her maiden flight around 9:30 and returned to the nest for the first time a day later.

Update August

On August 1 at 6 AM in the morning both storklets left the nest for the last time and started on their first migration south.
Ziluka's journey can be followed here:

https://www.movebank.org/panel_embedded_movebank_webapp

Her name on the map is Upene

[Felis silvestris]

One of the BS is standing on the nest in the rain. The nest looks a bit like "our" Estonian nest in Läänamaa.



Information will be added during the next days

[lianaliesma]

Felis silvestris, TY very much

[lianaliesma]

12.15

[Felis silvestris]

That looked like a fight for the nest

[Felis silvestris]

Looks like the proper partner arrived on the nest, at least no fight is going on.



Though both seem to have feathers on their beaks

[Bea]

So nice to see and hear! Black Storks again

Looks like a promising season in Latvia

I think the solar panel is visible in the background.

[Danielle]

Battle for the nest? I don't get it

[Felis silvestris]

Yes it looked like a fight for the nest! Both fell out! Feathers flew!

[Bea]

Battle? What battle?

This is "normal" vocalisation ....


Edit: Oh -I missed this action!

Perhaps I can find it in the archives later.

[Felis silvestris]

Yes, Bea, I have never seen anything like this. I think in the old Tooni nest they have witnessed such things. Tiina and Tiit always had a peaceful time.

Edit: the recording is of this part is still on, once the next batch starts, it can be downloaded. It was pretty exactly at 1 o'clock cam time.

[Bea]

I´ll catch it then

Pictures show nothing of the battle.

[Bea]

Forum downtime is over and I made a clip of the both BS battling on the nest

13:01

[Felis silvestris]

In the meantime I have witnessed several matings, almost every 5 minutes.

Edit: I was about to post the Pontu picture of the battle:

[Bea]

Here at my end cam is stuttering

[Felis silvestris]

Here too. Both, VLC and the direct stream

[lianaliesma]

Wow... I also witnessed the battle... really impressive...