Black Stork Nest 3
Youtube channel of Kotkaklubi
https://www.youtube.com/@Kotkaklubi
Camera link on YouTube
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-v_C_lCdU0
Kergu Black Stork nest was found in 2022, but it has been there for longer. Probably even fallen down, and rebuilt again on the branches of the same aspen tree. During installation of camera I noticed that nest is only partly supported by the branches, so added some kind well visible exoskeleton to keep it more stabile (perhaps). In the end of March 2024 it seems quite good, but still, not fully safe.
Nest site is situated in Pärnu county, near wind farm development area. That was the reason to track Kergu, male stork who nested here last year, as well as reason to install webcam. There are proposed some mitigation measures, like preparing better feeding conditions in other sectors of home range. Hopefully results of those measures will be visible also through webcam in time. The measures are at the moment in planning stage, yet. So if somebody has ideas for mitigation measures in that situation, those would be valuable to analyse in current situation.
Kergu has rings (incl. left leg 7047) since childhood, he has been ringed in 2011 as one of three chicks in nest situated about 10 km of current Kergu nest. Three chicks fledged in Kergu nest in 2022 and they were in good condition during ringing. Female in this nest we did not know, most probably she was without of rings. In 2023, here we did not see female in nest. Kergu refreshed nest properly, few times neighbour male Nurme visited the nest as well as not ringed immature individuals. But in general Kergu was in nest alone, listening neighbour bird species, like woodland owls, passerines, etc.
According former tracking data, Nurme checked this nest also in former years, before we found the nest.
I did a phone image of nest tree, if installed the camera there in 28.03.2024. Raivo, my colleague is standing there for to compare. Though, on photo the forest seems more open as it really is. There were three branches broken of nest tree above the nest because of snow, probably. So it is easier to land on nest for storks, but also easier to spot possible prey for eagles...
Hereby one image of the nest and cam there as it looks from a side (drone photo, 4.4.2023)
Text and pictures by ©Urmas Sellis, Kotkaklubi
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Valuable informations about Black Storks here in our LKF topic "What we know about Black Storks"
https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?t=989
Kergu and Nurme on birdmap
https://birdmap.5dvision.ee/EN/
Pärnu county
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A4rnu_County
https://pol.parnumaa.ee/defaulten
https://parnu.ee/en/
Windpark
https://tuuleenergia.ee/?lang=en
https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id ... cb&lang=en
https://www.windindustry.com/news/world ... om-estonia
