Black Stork Nest in Karula 2019

[balistar]

16:00 Katis beak looks quite damaged when she returned. I wonder what could have caused such damage.
.....

Michi, could it be, it is just mud ? (indeed, i hope so)

16:32 Kati got up, shaked her feathers and went to the toilette


i tried to enlarge her bill

[visit]

i'm glad, they changed and are both here again.
Hope, both will recover.

https://streamable.com/f8d3i

[Michi]

Michi, could it be, it is just mud ? (indeed, i hope so)

Balistar, I don't know, but maybe. In your picture now the beak looks a bit better than when she came. That suggests it was mud. It was mostly on the left side of the beak.

I placed the two photos side by side. First yours, then mine. It really looks a bit strange, I think.



I will look if I can see her beak later better.

Visit , thank you for the video!

[visit]

Thanks for thanking !

[Anne7]

Visit, thanks for the video!

Michi and balistar, many thanks for the pictures and the reports.

Kati's beak has never looked very smooth and even.
But now it looks a bit as if an "old layer" is peeling off? (See the yellow arrows.)
I don't know if something like that is possible and if so, if that is normal?

I have made some pics of it too. I doubt that they provide more clarity.

[Treia]

Oh dear, Kati's beak is a little bit sick.
Would she have had fight with OFAF?

[Anne7]

Oh dear, Kati's beak is a little bit sick.
Would she have had fight with OFAF?

Hello, Treia

I think that there is no reason to worry. Apparently, a peeling beak seems to be normal.

The below text is about parrots. I could not find info about BS beaks.

Is Your Parrot’s Peeling Beak Normal?
...Like our nails, a beak is made of keratin. And like our nails, beak tissue is continually growing. Normally, if a bird is on a good diet, a healthy beak will take care of itself. As it navigates its cage and chews on wooden toys, the beak is naturally groomed and any overgrowth is worn down.
There is always a fresh supply of new beak growth just under the existing beak, and it makes its way to the surface by sloughing off the old outer growth. This means that sometimes the visible part of the beak begins to peel away.
In fact, you will more often see a peeling appearance in your bird’s beak than not. Sometimes it looks extreme, but it is all part of the normal growth process. It is not unusual for a bird to try to hurry the process by rubbing its beak against hard surfaces. I try to gently discourage this behaviour when I see it happen. I have seen birds wear grooves into their beaks from the cage bars when they become obsessive in this activity. ...

https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdt ... eak-normal

[Treia]

Thanks for the explanation Anne!
So, perhaps the reason is then quite natural.

[Anne7]

Thanks for the explanation Anne!
So, perhaps the reason is then quite natural.

You're welcome, Treia.

21:19 It is nearly dark in the forest. Blackbirds are still singing. I hear a cuckoo calling. It doesn't rain anymore.
Kati is sleeping in peace.


Good night, everyone.
Sleep well, Kati.

[Michi]

I think that there is no reason to worry. Apparently, a peeling beak seems to be normal.

Thank you for your research, Anne!
As you said, Katis beak was never smooth. All the years I know her with a non-perfect beak. But today it looks even worse than usual.
Indeed there's hardly an information about beak changes in wild birds. What you have found for parrots sounds a little reassuring. But for those and also for parakeets it is also written that it can come to beak diseases. Caused for example by parasites like itch- or mange mites or a poor nutrition.

On a page for budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) I found another interesting description. It is written in German and I try to translate:
"The wax skin (cere) of birds, as the skin on the nose is called in technical terminology, can change its surface structure due to various causes. A relatively frequent change of the wax skin in budgerigars is hyperkeratosis, which can be observed especially in sexually mature females. To put it simply, this is an excessively strong growth and thus a hornification of the wax skin. If the nostrils are not closed by hyperkeratosis, this change in the skin is not particularly dangerous for the affected animals. ......"
Source: http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/g ... rungen.htm

Surely one can't compare a budgie with a stork but I think the basic things are at least similar for all of them.
Regarding Kati: She looks as if she is in a state of permanent peeling.

Good night, everyone!

[Liz01]

May 6

Hello all

Thank you for pictures and comments

10:42 Karl I comes home.


Kati stands up and is preening herself


Karl II flew away again. ? She need no break.

[Liz01]

10:47 came in again from a wrong side Kati is defending the nest,

[Liz01]

one more picture.


she calms down




I've often wondered how they recognize each other. Apparently it's not that easy. Karl II behaves differently than Karl. Then it comes to misunderstandings. That's just an opinion. I dont know...

[Liz01]

She steps on a egg


10:48 Kati settles again on the eggs


10:49 he is preening himself.


Karl II is doing some home work

10:54 Kati stands up... short greeting and she flew to the right

Karl is doing Stork yoga and settles on the eggs

the video includes the whole event

[Treia]

Thank you Liz for fine pictures !

It looks like our mom-Kati has received trauma from OFAF's visits,
( maybe the cam has suffered for that reason ? )
Karl look calmed the situation, but his twigs fell.

[Anne7]

Hello, everyone!

Liz, many thanks for the great pictures and video!

Hello, Treia

10:47 came in again from a wrong side Kati is defending the nest,

Yes, Kati is still stressed.
I saw this "nest defending" too. Kati, what are you doing?!
This time, Karl II did not let himself be chased away and delivered the branches that he carried.
Well, he just dropped them.

10:47:15 Karl II drops the branches


10:54:29 Kati leaves


11:11:11 Karl II on the eggs

[visit]

Some videos...

both, not changed yet ? *guess, no
https://streamable.com/5fgav

arrival, no change, nest activities
https://streamable.com/27sud

both, plumage cleaning
https://streamable.com/00lq3

both, nudging, change, departure
https://streamable.com/2ieac

watching something in the sky/tree, moving branches
https://streamable.com/skf69

nest activities
https://streamable.com/fism9

[Anne7]

Some videos...
....

WOW, so many videos!
Many thanks, visit!

Thank you for your research, Anne!
As you said, Katis beak was never smooth. All the years I know her with a non-perfect beak. But today it looks even worse than usual.
Indeed there's hardly an information about beak changes in wild birds. What you have found for parrots sounds a little reassuring. But for those and also for parakeets it is also written that it can come to beak diseases. Caused for example by parasites like itch- or mange mites or a poor nutrition.
On a page for budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) I found another interesting description. It is written in German and I try to translate:
"The wax skin (cere) of birds, as the skin on the nose is called in technical terminology, can change its surface structure due to various causes. A relatively frequent change of the wax skin in budgerigars is hyperkeratosis, which can be observed especially in sexually mature females. To put it simply, this is an excessively strong growth and thus a hornification of the wax skin. If the nostrils are not closed by hyperkeratosis, this change in the skin is not particularly dangerous for the affected animals. ......"
Source: http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/g ... rungen.htm
Surely one can't compare a budgie with a stork but I think the basic things are at least similar for all of them.
Regarding Kati: She looks as if she is in a state of permanent peeling.

Thank you, Michi.

This is interesting.
Kati often scratches her chin/cheeks/beak.
Maybe she has little unwanted visitors?
Or is that peeling beak itching?

[Treia]

Thanks for the nice pictures and great videos ...
I think Kati also looks tired ...

[Liz01]

Birds beak:
The beak – also known as the bill – has two parts: the upper mandible and the lower mandible.
The upper mandible is a fancy name for a bird's upper beak or upper bill. The upper mandible grows out of the skull, just as your upper teeth grow out of your skull. The upper mandible doesn't move independently from the skull.

The lower mandible is the scientific name for a bird's lower beak or bill. The lower mandible can move indepently because it's hinged. It can move up and down, just like your jaw.
Unlike your teeth, beaks are covered with skin. This skin produces a substance called keratin – the same material feathers, hair, and fingernails are made of. The keratin produced by a bird's beak will dry and condense to make the bill hard and durable. The dried keratin also gives the beak a glossy appearance. As the keratin wears down, it's replaced so the beak will remain sharp.

Does having a beak make up for not having teeth, paws, hands, antlers, horns or spines? It has to. Birds must rely on their beaks to carry out many different tasks.

The number one use for the beak is to gather or capture food. However, birds also use beaks to pick up building materials and construct their nests. (Think about building a house with your mouth!)

But birds use beaks for even more. When they have to, birds use beaks and feet as weapons to defend themselves, their nests, and their chicks.

Birds use beaks for drinking, feeding their young, and preening.

Some birds, like the American White Pelican, even grow special structures on their beaks during breeding season to make themselves more attractive (at least, to each other).

Beaks come in a wonderful assortment of shapes and sizes, each perfectly suited for that particular bird's favorite foods and typical feeding behaviors.

Some beaks are specialized to be just right for certain diets. Birds with these bills use them the same way you use a spoon to eat ice cream or a fork to eat salad.

EDIT: I've forgotten the source Thank you Anne
http://projectbeak.org/adaptations/beaks.htm