Black Stork Nest 2 2025

[brofasa]

(My image hosting site is working again, replaced all images)

18:40 The female returns home silently.


She preens and rests.


22:08 Night vision. The female is home alone.

[villasuss]

Thank you, Askja, for the summary!
It seems to me that the stork who falls out of the nest at 11:25:41 is number 1 (the one with the injured wing). When watching the video in slow motion, I believe it's visible that the male number 2, remains in the nest.

I also tried to take some photos of it, but since I haven't used the forum before, I need to learn how to upload them.

[Askja]

Hello villasuss,
thank you again! I think you are right, No.1 lost the first fight too. I think I have found a picture that shows the feather gap when he fell down. Nevertheless, you are very welcome to post more pictures here, that gives us more material to compare and decide. I will correct the summary accordingly tomorrow.

To post images you need to use an external image host website to store your picture. They provide you with a link to it.
Here in the comment box you click on the little picture icon above the text. Two img tags appear. Now paste that copied link between the two tags. Some hosts provide ready made forum links, but they often contain an extra link to their website. I use only direkt links.

To find image host websites, open any picture here in the forum in a new tab. That generally leads you to the site where it is stored. I have been using postimage (https://postimages.org/) for many, many years (the best is their little Windows app to use on the desktop). They rarely have any down time, and if they do (like today ), the problem usually disappears within a quarter of an hour or so.
Looking forward to your pics!

Good night!

[Everglade]

Thank you Askja!

[villasuss]

Thank you, Askja, for the detailed guide.

I'll try to upload the photos.
This one was taken before the stork fell from the nest (20.05.2025). The stork that falls from the nest has a gap in its wing.


This photo captures the moment of the fall. The stork that stays in the nest has an intact wing.


One photo is from today’s fight. It was a mess.

[Anne7]

May 21st

Hello and thank you all!

The fighting continues.

I will try to prepare a few pics on my tablet. Not ideal for good quality.

On the YouTube chat:
Thank you very much, villasuss!

​​04:02:43 male no 1 in

​​04:43:12 female out

​​05:33:49 female in

​​06:05:13 female out

​​06:06 attack (male no2?)



​​06:06:19 male 1 falls out

​​06:06:26 female in

​​06:07:25 attack (male no 1)



​​06:07:50 What is this? Fish?



​​06:07:55 2 storks fall out

​​

[Anne7]

.
06:08:27 BS out (male no 2?)

​​06:08:51 BS in (male no 2?)



​​06:08:59 female in

[Anne7]

.

​​06:09:04 attack



​​female out



​​06:09:09 all out





​​06:09:23 BS in

​​somebody is nearby, 06:09:37 BS out

​​06:10:04 BS in

​​06:11:11 BS out

[Anne7]

.
06:12:54 BS in



​​female? eats the huge fish



​​06:44 female out

​​

[Anne7]

.
06:52 male no 1 in



​​06:52:32 female in





Male 1 and the female greet each other kindly




I really need to do other things now.

[Askja]

Hello, thank you so much to all contributors - oh, what a mess this is! I feel sorry for No.1 who apparently still thinks he has to raise chicks...

I have just come in, I corrected yesterday's summary and will now take over from Anne. Perhaps it is futile to identify every BS in the fights? We now know who the rivals are (assuming that no stranger comes into the play) and can ID them when alone on the nest.

[Askja]

taking over from 06:52 when male No.1 was in the nest.
06:59 female goes onto the branch, male lies down in the nest.
07:06 she walks out of view
07:20 she comes back into the nest from the branch, they sing together.
he lies down, she preens him,
07:30 female onto the side branch. No.1 sorts some old bedding in the nest bowl.
07:45 she comes back in, both sing excitedly - someone there? No. He lies down again. Female small PS.
07:51 he gets up - she quickly walks on the branch - he lies down again.

08:05 he gets up and calls her, she comes back into the nest. He nibbles at her neck. She hops onto the far side branch.
08:42 he calls her back, she comes, but soon retires onto the branch again. He lies down.

09:04 he gets up, sings, she comes into the nest. So it goes on.
09:54 the male (I have yet to see his right wing) gets up and looks under himself in the empty nest bowl. He turns and looks and turns and begins to sing. Then he lies down on the rim of the nest.

09:54 Male No.1 contemplating the empty nest bowl...


09:54 ...then lying down beside it on the nest rim


10:05 female flies away
10:09 male No.1 flies away (I believe I have seen a gap in his wing feathers)
10:11 the female is back, seconds later Male No.1 arrives too. They sing together for a long time.
10:18 male PS
10:22 Thei're standing in the nest; they both see something in the trees
10:27 mating

10:27 a long mating that might have succeded in the end. His wing gap is clearly visible.

[Askja]

10:30 - 12:30
nothing new happens. they stand or lie in the nest (male), stand in the nest or on the side branch (female), preen themselves and enjoy the sunshine. The male likes to nibble the female's neck.
12:45 the female denies a mating advance.
12:47 both watch the forest. The male flies off abruptly.
12:49 the female flies off abruptly, directly out of the nest.
12:51 male No.1 arrives back, could be heard singing from afar. The female arrives seconds later.
12:52 she steps onto the side branch.

13:52 mating, failed
13:55 the male finds a lot to do at restoring the nest.

13:58 Male No.1 restoring the nest. Most of the twigs on the front side have slid down during the fights.


14:10 the female flies away
14:11 the male starts singing into the forest, then flies away, too.
14:14 both arrive back at the nest. (male No.1)
14:20 the female on the side branch, the male standing on the nest, both take aa nap.
14:43 male small PS. He calls her back into the nest.
14:46 the female flies away
14:49 the male flies away
14:54 male No.1 is back in the nest.

15:32 the male starts singing excitedly, he sees someone in the forest

15:35 male No.1 is singing wildly, who does he see in the trees?


15:37 the male flies away

16:00 the female is back in the nest; male No.1 arrives seconds later.
16:15 both have been standing in the nest and preening for the last 15 min.

16:18 male No.1 likes to nibble the female's neck


15:46 the female walks onto her side branch, does a PS. The male begins to work on the nest again.
16:55 she flies away.
16:56 male No.1 flies away.

18:00 the nest is still empty.

[Anne7]

… oh, what a mess this is! I feel sorry for No.1 who apparently still thinks he has to raise chicks...
…

Hello Askja

Yes, it’s a complete mess.

What we see happening on this nest is not only tragic, but also very unusual.

The female is mating on the nest with both competing males. I can imagine that her main concern is to preserve her nest and her territory.

Could it be that if the female made a clear choice of who she wants as a partner, the conflict would be settled much faster?

I get the feeling she is struggling with a dilemma.
She seems, in my opinion, to like male #1 more, but male #2 is apparently bigger and stronger, and therefore more suited to conquer the nest, protect it more efficiently and maybe even provide stronger offspring (in the future)...

Of course, these are just personal considerations.
And, obviously, we don't know what BS really think or feel.

So let’s just continue to observe.

Thank you for the great work!

[Swenja]

Male #1 has to endure a lot of neck bites. It looks like he is missing feathers on his neck.



edit: Many thanks to all of you! This is a great mess.

[Askja]

Anne
"... if the female made a clear choice of who she wants as a partner, ..."

You are very welcome, and yes, I agree with your every word. But I think the problem here arises with the two males claiming not only the same female but also - and mainly - the same nest. She does not normally have to choose twice - she follows that male who owns this one nest. Any rival normally would have another nest (and he probably wouldn't even mate with her in the other male's home). As it is, she isn't asked for a decision at the moment. She might find it a bit weird that her partner changes every now and then, but hey, she is in the right place!

More personal considerations here...

[Askja]

Swenja, thank you!
Yes, indeed, No.1's neck looks quite ruffled, not to mention all the bruises he got by beak stabbing and falling through the trees! But he didn't look to be affected in any way when he was mating, so he seems to be alright

[brofasa]

Could it be that if the female made a clear choice of who she wants as a partner, the conflict would be settled much faster?

I get the feeling she is struggling with a dilemma.
She seems, in my opinion, to like male #1 more, but male #2 is apparently bigger and stronger, and therefore more suited to conquer the nest, protect it more efficiently and maybe even provide stronger offspring (in the future)...

Hello everyone!
Askja, Swenja, Anne7

I think the female simply does not want to alienate any of the two males. One of them will become her mate for the rest of the season. It is not her decision, however. It depends on who is more persistent.
Females usually gravitate towards the fitter male (in this case male no.2) but black storks also form temporary bonds with their mate for a season, so she is still familiar with male no.1 too. Hence why she has no preference.
At least, this is my opinion.

18:37 Male no.1 comes to the nest and sings enthusiastically.
Gap in the wing


The female comes home as well and sings with him.


They preen themselves and rest.

18:51 They observe something to the right of the nest.


19:05 Female ps

19:06 The female flies away.

[brofasa]

The male is alone on the nest, resting quietly.


19:49 Male ps

Streeeeetch...
Such a big gap


20:52 Male ps

20:53 The male starts singing enthusiastically.

You can see the missing feathers on the neck here well.

[brofasa]

20:55 The female comes home. They greet each other.


The male sits down. The female preens him.

20:56 The female accidentally pulls on the area of the neck where the male is hurt and he stands up.

The female goes to the branch and rests there.


21:42 The male starts to sing for the female.
She goes back to the nest and sings with him.

21:43 Female ps
21:44 Male ps

21:44 The male wants to mate but the female rejects him.
21:46 The male wants to mate but the female stands tall and rejects him.

21:47 The male starts to preen the female
(Now this is something I noticed. I have never observed male no.2 preening the female. Usually, mates would preen each other but in their case only the female preened the male when he sat down. But male no.1 seems to return the preening and tends to the female too. Interesting differences in character.)