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Important events in breeding season 2025
Streaming
The camera went online on April 08, in the evening
Part 1: the first couple
Arrival
Both storks arrived on March 27.
Liz wrote:
"The male arrived first, at 1:38 PM, the female at 5:37 PM." -
viewtopic.php?p=950295#p950295
Eggs
1st egg: presumably during the night of 04.04 to 05.04
2nd egg: presumably during the night of 06.04 to 07.04
3rd egg: during the night of 08.04 to 09.04
4th egg: presumably during the night of 10.04 to 11.04
5th egg: presumably during the night of 12.04 to 13.04
THE MALE IS MISSING
5 May - At 10:48 the male flew out. Presumably to chase away the intruder.
See:
viewtopic.php?p=954498#p954498
The male has not returned home since. It is unknown what happened to him.
6 May - First “egg talk” was heard, and a pip in an egg was observed.
7 May - At 02:00 the camera switched off. Empty batteries.
THE MALE IS BACK
11 May -
At 09:45 the transmission resumed.
See:
viewtopic.php?p=955565#p955565
In the archive could be observed that
on 11 May at 09:43 another fierce fight happened at the nest, between the male and the intruder. The chicks were trampled.
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2 chicks died and were afterwards removed from the nest and dropped into the forest by the intruder.
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2 other chicks are apparently OK, as far as we can tell.
- The
5th egg is hatching (egg talk has been heard)
- It’s clear that our missing male returned to the nest while the camera was off.
12 May
The two remaining chicks died due to hypothermia and lack of food. They were both eaten by a BS, presumably by the female.
The 5th egg, which was clearly hatching on 11 May, did not survive the events either.
13 May
- The intruder dropped the 5th egg in the forest.
- The female threw the intruder out of the nest. See:
viewtopic.php?p=956028#p956028
The battle for the nest (and for the initial female) is not yet settled, for now.
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A female BS with ring number 718A, hatched in 2022 in Harjumaa (Harju County), Estonia, landed on the far branch. She arrived at the same time as the intruder. As of that same moment, the initial female (who was on the nest), seemed to accept the intruder as her new mate. Coincidence? Probably not. Starting here:
viewtopic.php?p=956045#p956045
- A merciless and nasty fight between the intruder and the initial male may have been decisive. Our initial male was thrown out. See:
viewtopic.php?p=956084#p956084
14 May
It looks like the intruder has conquered both the nest and the initial female.
They mated on the nest. Will very late eggs (/a second clutch) be laid? Not impossible. We will see.
The initial male appears to have surrendered and has not been seen.
Part 2: the new couple
After numerous disturbances by the intruder and several fights on the nest, the complete brood of the first couple perished.
As of May 14, the intruder and the initial female became the new pair inhabiting the nest. There have been many matings (successful and unsuccessful). The new male has dug the nestbowl and removed old (decaying?) nest material from it.
20 May
- 10:49:06 -
The initial male with a gap in his right wing arrives on the nest.
Thank you for noticing, Tanya!
- 10:49:29 - The female arrives, they sing together and they mate at 11:03 and at 11:22. (The last time she mated with her new male was on the same day at 09:31)
- 11:25 - The furious new male attacks. After a tough fight, the new male (?) is thrown out. The other male flies out to chase away his rival. At 11:27 the new male joins the female on the nest.
- 11:27 - Now the initial male attack and we see another harsh fight between the 2 males. The initial male is mercilessly thrown out of the nest, backwards…
The new male flies out to chase him, or to continue the fight outside of the nest. How is this going to end?
21 May - In the early morning, we witnessed 3 more fights between the males. For the rest of the day, male 1 (with battered neck and head feathers) was with the female.
Is Male #1 again the nest owner?
22 and 23 May were quiet days on the nest for the female and Male #1. Male #2 has not been seen.
24 May - The camera went off at 20:15. Male #2 has not been seen.
May 28 - The transmission resumed at 14:57.
Male #2 is back on the nest.The female joins him in the evening. What happened with Male #1?
