On this new topic, we will document the migration of Estonian Black Storks, with the exception of Karl II, Kaia and their offspring.
They have their own topic - Following Karls' Families - and their migration can be followed here: viewtopic.php?t=945.
The information on the birds below will gradually be supplemented with more images and maps.
Kergu Kuremari Metsoja Nurme Timmu
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Kergu is an adult male breeding in the northern part of Pärnu county.
He is born in 2011, 10 km from the current nest.
In 2022 three juveniles fledged successfully from his nest.
In 2023 Kergu's mate didn't come home, and he didn't find a new female.
Kergu winters in northwest Ethiopia
Kergu's autumn migration in 2022
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Strictly speaking, Kuremari is a Latvian BS. But we will document her/his migration here because she got an Estonian transmitter and was entered into the Estonian OrniTrack system. We really do hope our Latvian friends will also enjoy the tracker maps we publish.
Ring OXUJ
Gender: unclear.
Wintering grounds: let's find it out together (2023-2024)!
Edit 2024
Kuremari winters in Ethiopia, south of Mekele
URMAS wrote some information about Kuremari.
"Kuremari was caught in Haanja NP, a NP adjacent to Karula NP. It was a presumably adult stork accompanied by a second-year immature specimen. I naturally caught the adult-looking stork. But it turned out to be a third-year immature stork, ringed in Latvia. Since she had already been caught, we installed the transmitter. I am not sure if she will breed in Estonia, but we will see (maybe next year). I wrote 'she' according to the measurements, but that is not 100% clear. As you know, she visited the Latvian webcam nest once in May."
Kuremari before s/he was trapped, fishing in the fish basket.
There is also a plastic decoy and a second-year immature BS, who was familiar with Kuremari.
Kuremari briefly visited a lone Latvian male on May 26th 2023. But s/he didn't enter the nest, and only visited once (as far as I know).
I had seen that post and video back then, but didn't remember the ring number OXUJ.
What a coincidence!
MĀRIS STRAZDS wrote (on the Latvian forum): Paldies par ziņu. Gredzens nolasīts pareizi. Diemžēl nevaru pārliecinoši
apstiprināt, ka tā būtu meitene. Pēc mērījumiem gredzenošanas laikā tas bija
puika - taču tas nav 100%, šādi noteiktam dzimumam ir apmēram 10-15% kļūdu.
DNS pārbaude pagaidām nav veikta. Putns bija jaunākais no trim mazuļiem
ligzdā netālu no Pabažiem (67,15 km no šīs ligzdas). Putns gredzenots
2021.g. 4 jūlijā apmēram 44 dienu vecumā, putna vecums šodien ir 734 dienas
(3. kalendārais gads), tas NOTEIKTI ir nepieaudzis ("tīneidžeris") putns,
kas "iepazīst dzīves telpu".
I tried to translate this with the help of a translation app: "Thank you for your message. The ring was read correctly. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm conclusively that it is a female. According to the measurements at the time of ringing it might be a male - but this is not 100% certain, there is about 10-15% error for gender determination this way.
DNA testing has not yet been carried out. The bird was the youngest of three chicks in a nest near Pabazi (67.15 km from this [Latvian] nest). The bird was ringed on 4 July 2021 at about 44 days of age, the bird's age today is 734 days (3rd calendar year), it is DEFINITELY a juvenile ("teenager") bird, "exploring the world"."
So what do we know? Kuremari is:
— the youngest of three chicks in a nest (2021) near Pabazi, Latvia
— ringed on 4 July 2021 (OXUJ), at the age of approximately 44 days.
— trapped and fitted with a transmitter by Urmas on 24 July 2023 in Haanja Nature Park, Estonia
— Kuremari winters in Ethiopia
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
. EEDI
Before we can talk about the below juvenile BS - Metsoja - we are sad to report that our beloved EEDI did not return to his nest in 2023.
Presumably, Eedi perished. This information is very sad.
Eedi was a 'neighbour' of Karl II. The nest is located in Karula National Park
In 2023, Eedi's nest was inhabited by a new, unknown pair. Three juveniles successfully fledged.
METSOJA
Ring 718T
Juvenile, hatched in spring 2023 in Karula National Park
Gender: unknown
Urmas wrote: Today [August 14th 2023] I caught a juvenile stork in the vicinity (at 700 m) of former Eedi's nest. There is also a fish basket, and an adult stork takes fish there. It appeared that in his nest were three chicks, but already too big ones to ring them. So I needed to use a different method... the first of those juveniles got the transmitter of former Madi.
and also some more information: "Today morning[August 18th 2023]I tried to trap an adult BS of former Eedi's nest. There were three chicks, but we found them too late. They were too big to ring them [on the nest], so I caught them at the same fish basket a few days ago. One of the three got the leg mounted transmitter of last season's Madi and the two others got only rings. They were also today at the fish basket, but no adult was seen. It started to rain and I left. After an hour the adult BS arrived, but I was away already. ..."
Metsoja and siblings
I made a zoomed-in detail. What beautiful storklets!
Metsoja, on the last day in the breeding ground, feeding in the fish basket
Thanks for the pictures, Urmas!
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Adult male whose territory is situated in Pärnu county, west-central Estonia.
1st wintering site: southern Sudan (reached by mid October)
2nd wintering site (second half of wintering): Ethiopian highlands.
From the birdmap: Adult Black Stork whose territory is situated in west-central Estonia. [In 2021] he used an artificial nest, refreshed it in spring, but did not find a female to produce brood. [In 2021] Nurme started his autumn migration on August 2nd, and on August 8th he reached his stopover place in Ukraine. Wintering site in southern Sudan reached by mid October and second half of wintering in Ehtiopian highlands.
During the breeding season 2022 Nurme visited several nests in a fairly large territory. In one of such nests Nurme was captured by a trail camera together with a ringed female (V702) from Lithuania (ringed in 2020). Autumn migration started at the end of July. Nurme migrated up to the southern part of Belarus together with another monitored black stork from Pärnu County (Timmu). In Africa, the connection with Nurme was lost, as is common there.
Nurme's autumn migration in 2021 and 2022
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Wintering site: near Metema on the Sudanese border, in north western Ethiopia
Information on birdmap: Adult black stork from Pärnu county, Estonia. Caught in the beginning of August 2020, on the old wood rafting channel Timmkanal, after which he was named. We only found out about Timmu's nest in the next year, because in 2020 he had no brood. After his capture and installation of the transmitter, Timmu stayed at the release point for several days probably due to stress and did not want to fly. But when he started flying, he went on migration on August 17, 2020. Timmu made a stop in the southern part of Belarus on August 21, where he spent almost a month. Timmu then flew for two weeks without longer stop overs to winter in Ethiopia, near the Sudanese border. Timmu reached wintering site on October 2nd. He has a wintering area of about 160 square kilometers. During the spring migration (March 2nd - April 15th), Timmu did not make any long migration stops. Breeding in 2021 was successful with two chicks fledged. Timmu also reached the same wintering place in 2021, but made two stops during the autumn migration, one in southern Belarus and one in Romania. When he started wintering in 2021, Ethiopia did not have as good a mobile network as a year earlier. Sometimes we had to wait a long time for data. Maybe it was caused by the conflict between Sudan and Ethiopia?
Edit:
I hope I didn’t make too many mistakes.
If so, please correct and/or complete any information about the above mentioned BSs.
Your comments are very welcome!
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Kuremari's migration flight started in Latvia and took him or her straight south to Belarus. The latest data we received is from 15.08 from the Pripyat River area near the city of Masyr. We've already had experience from Bonus and Waba last year that the area is particularly great for birds, so we may have to wait a bit before we get data from Kuremari again. the next schedule is announced for tomorrow.
Hurray! Kuremari sent data!
But the data are not complete (yet)
Kuremari was on August 17th near Adamivka in the Vinnytsia Oblast in Ukraine (last GPRS data).
But a single location point was sent (GSM data) from southern Moldova today August 20th, at 13:22 UTC.
Kuremari is currently a little west of Copceac, and a little north of Cairaclia. That's near the most southwestern tip of Ukraine, and not far from Romania either
I'll prepare the tracker maps.
Edit: Oops. Francesca, we were writing posts at the same time.
Would you like to do the work, or would you prefer me to do it?
For me, everything is fine
Kuremari spent the night at the Pripyat River near Mazyr in Belarus and started travelling south on August 16th at about 10:05 UTC+3. At 16:18 UTC she was already west of Kiev in Ukraine.
At 18:35 UTC+3 she already reached Bystriivka in the Zhytomyr Oblast in Ukraine and spent the night there
▶︎ TRACKER MAP KUREMARI 16.08 - 17.08.2023 (morning)
From 16.08 at 13:18 UTC until 17.08 at 08:42 UTC
Kuremari is foraging near the Bratul Măcin / Dunarea Veche
Kuremari is currently in the "Big Island of Brăila" or "Great Brăila Island", five times greater in size than the adjacent nature reserve "Small Island of Braila". The "Great Brăila Island" was largely drained during the previous political era. Regional management plans in the past have tended toward intensive agriculture and aquaculture, but more recently sustainability has emerged as an objective.
The Great Brăila Island (Romanian: Insula Mare a Brăilei) is an island on the Danube river in the Brăila County, Romania. It has on average 57.9 km length and 18.6 km width, with a total area of 710 km2. The two river branches which separate it from the mainland are Măcin Branch [ro] and Vâlciu Branch [ro].
Adjacent to the west across the Vâlciu branch is the Small Brăila Island (Romanian: Insula Mică a Brăilei, actually a chain of several islands within swampy area), separated from the mainland by Vâlciu and Cremenea Branch [ro]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Brăila_Island
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
Kuremari was here, on this side of the Bratul Măcin / Dunărea Veche Branch.
The Great Brăila Island is on the other side, across the water. https://goo.gl/maps/J6L6udotFY2qgP576
Hulbi Lorm wrote: ↑August 21st, 2023, 7:59 pm
So, so sorry for Eedi, though. I hope he is with last year's chicks, somewhere far up there.
Yes, Hulbi.
Dear old Eedi. He embarked on a different voyage.
“We are all travellers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of Infinity. Life is Eternal. But the expressions of life are ephemeral, momentary, transient.
We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. …” Deepak Chopra
“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.”
— Irene Pepperberg
