Black Stork Nest 2, Jan and Janika, 2022

[Liz01]

12:04 still no Jan in sight
20 hours absence

12:26 she is spreading moss




what a beauty she is

[Liz01]

12:47 Janika sees someone
She stands up .. nothing

12:48 still healthy ps by one of the storklets
12:48:36 another storklet is doping a ps

13:03 Storklets are covered again.
13:11 she is up again and doing some nest work
13:18 sh covers the little ones again

I'm starting to get really worried about Jan

[Liz01]

13:34 someone above. She is looking around and back to rest
Could it be that Jan is nearby? No hunting because the weather is not suitable?
It's a pity that I have absolutely no idea what could be going on. every now and then I think she sees someone. She behaves accordingly. But there is nobody

[Anne7]

I'm starting to get really worried about Jan

Me too, Liz

It is not normal to be away for so long, at this stage.
I really hope Jan will show up soon. The chicks need food.
Janika cannot raise them on her own.

[Liz01]

...It is not normal to be away for so long, at this stage.

Anne, too bad you have no way of finding him. 'I wish he had a transmitter!

[Anne7]

Jan can be anywhere within a radius of say 20 km around the nest.

Without transmitter data, we have no idea where to look for him...

Fingers crossed.

[Liz01]

14:26 Janika stands up again. They are soo hungry
14:27:38 a really healthy ps by an storklet
oh my.. 22 hours without food

[Liz01]

14:37 they are a cute pile. cuddle together
She covers them again

That's what surprises me the most at the moment. She shows no signs of eliminating the little one.
It has to be a situation she can overlook. I unfortunately do not!
but I'm only human and an observer

[sova]

Hello Liz
....still nothing

[Liz01]

sova, ​there must be a reason why she stays and because she still keeps the 5th !

15:52 she is preening the little ones

[sova]

sova, ​there must be a reason why she stays and because she still keeps the 5th !

maybe she has such a trust in Jaan, would that be possible?
maybe she just knows more than we do? I would like to remain optimistic but it is difficult....

[Liz01]

15:55 little #5


they cuddle


16:00 she covers them again. Wild animals don't show when they're not feeling well. this is part of their survival strategy. so no idea if they are still doing well.

[Liz01]

the nest


16:11 she is up again


#5 and #4 are only 1 day apart! and he looks so small!

[Liz01]

Storklets bite into everything that moves

16:16 she looks up again and continues preening the storklets

she is looking to the left and up
16:18 #5 seems a bit weak. all try to follow her beaks in hopes of food

[Liz01]

16:2 she covers them again. Now almost 24 hours without food


https://www.looduskalender.ee/n/node/6721

GT, if it works

the important thing:
Today, on June 2nd, there is still the female in the nest with the chicks. We haven't seen the male for 21 hours...
What could be the reason?
If Jan is fine, he will bring food. The weather has been unsettled over the past few days.
Rain showers have raised the water in the brooks where the adult birds were fishing,
so maybe they have to look for new places...
We hope to find out and let you know.

[Liz01]

16:45 she stands up again. now more than 24 hours since yesterday!
Fingers are crossed that Jan can find food
my poor little ones! #5 is very sleepy

16:56 she is aerating the nest bowl and preening the storklets
16:59 she covers them again

17:15 she is up .. there is not much to do

[Liz01]

17:16:47 ps by and storklet
17:18 she starts preening. . on of them has fallen over. It was not the youngest
how long can they go without food? I'm in a great worry about the whole family

17:23 she covers them again.
17:29 up
17:29:32 ps by an storklet it was a good one!

17:34 she covers the little ones
i don't think it's an advantage in this situation to eliminate #5. It wouldn't change anything about the situation. so #5 is still in the nest

[Urmas]

I'm in touch with situation here, but don't know more as you.
Think in course of evolution there is no solution for disappearing of one adult. But there is working probably the instinct, that other adult will not leave easily chicks alone. Up to a point, of course. Other sides, predators are around and have to use every gift provided.
I have no good solution for case if Jan will not come at all. It is possible to make nice view here and rise up the chicks artificially, but these storks will be not really wild. We do not have experiences and technical sources to make it properly. Theoretically, it is possible to provide fish for Janika and she would feed chicks well, but problematic is how to make those fish quickly findable, discoverable for Janika? We do not know, where she forages usually as territory is huge and no any glue to install a fish-basket...
There was a fish basket for three weeks since beginning of May, in less as one km from this nest, in quite open place on stream. But no storks visited it, so removed the basket and placed in another territory.

[Liz01]

I'm in touch with situation here, but don't know more as you....

Urmas, thank you very much for your comment!

Let's hope Jan will return!

[Liz01]

19:13 the lens a bit foggy
19:31 she covers the storklets again . for me they are looking all a bit weak


I don't think we'll see Jan again. A bad thought.If he isn't here tomorrow, I don't know if I'll keep watching. I'm not a masochist.