Webcam in the woods - Black Stork Tony's diary (2007)
Scott Diel
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Three weeks after the first flying lessons the call to leave south is stronger than the call of safe nest.
A and F left together at 5.43 a.m. and did not return. Tony was probably unaware of it. He returned to the nest at 9.24 a.m., but did not find the noisy youngsters this time. So he could leave the food he had brought to himself and he spent almost half a day in the nest taking care of himself. At 16.10 Tony left the nest and we don't know if we can see him at the nest this year again. Lets see... |
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The night was very warm, 21 degrees. Rain sprinkled on the forest around four a.m. and around eight a.m. there was a bit of proper rain. Strong winds, too. The daytime temperature was a bit more tolerable than yesterday.
Tony is keeping an eye on the nest and feeding the chicks. The young ones now do more short flights and surely are going to feed. It seems that they are more and more leaving the nest and doing things together? Tony is using the same wetlands area for feeding like this time last year (when we were unable to catch him!). |
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A usual day in the forest where everything went like clockwork - Tony's feeding, as well as the chicks' flight practice. Tony brought food in the morning, but it was too little, so the chicks left the nest themselves to seek more. A couple of hours later they returned to the nest to rest in the shade. Their stomacks were so full that they did not take their evening walk.
The night was foggy and 13 degrees, 28 degrees in the day time. Evening brought clouds and possible rain tomorrow. |
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At night it was very foggy in the woods, the temperature did not fall below 18 degrees. Tony has been taking care of the youngsters - feeding them and looking after them.
At daytime there were some internet blackouts, we also changed the batteries to keep the week maintenance-free, should the youngsters decide to stay at the nest. |
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Temperature at the forest was 18 degrees, early in the morning the youngsters returned to the nest. They left before nine for another hour.
At two o'clock a flying tour was made for about half an hour. The temperature was +28 in the shade. At seven an evening tour was made after 15 minute breaks and they returned before half past eight. Appearently the last night in the woods had been "dark and scary". |
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The heat remains. Evening saw 17 degrees and we had 31 degrees after lunch.
Early morning A and F wandered separately. A returned a bit after seven and F arrived an hour later. Tony left a bit before noon and brought the chicks some rather large fish. In the evening after eight the chicks went wandering and had not returned by dark... We thank everyone who has sent us their observations. They have been very helpful. |
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Saturday's weather was 13 degrees at night and 29 in the day. Everyone is a bit tired of this weather. Sunday was 18 degrees at night and 30 degrees after lunch.
The forest saw rain and thunder. It seems the chicks don't always do things together. From time to time only one chick is in the nest. On Sunday morning A was away an hour longer. Tony goes to bring food less often than before. Two weeks have passed since the first flight. Postimees, the Estonian daily, published a photo feature chronicling adventures in the nest. |
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A heat record: Night in the forest was 14 degrees, and we're already getting used to afternoon temperatures of 28 degrees.
Both chicks were back in the nest at 8.15. Tony went to bring food at 11.40, but after that we didn't see him. The chicks are quite passive in the hot weather. In the evening they took a walk for about an hour and a half and both made it back to the nest before dark. |
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Today's weather was again hot with similar temperatures, winds from the southeast up to ten meters per second. We changed batteries at nine in the morning, at which time it was 20 degrees in the forest.
A and F took a walk for two hours beginning at 5.30. At 6.34 a squirrel entered the nest to inspect it. Nothing escaped our German viewers. They also haven't seen Donna for quite some time, but the squirrel certainly didn't get past them.
During the day test flights are conducted in the neighborhood of the nest - grand flights between the trees and professional landings in the nest. Today saw the longest walk in the woods - nothing of such length before.
Now it is clear, that only one chick returned to the nest. Could not see the ring. |
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This has been the hottest part of summer so far with nighttime temperatures not dropping below 18 degrees. This weather gets to us all.
At five thirty this morning the nest was empty but by eight both chicks were back at home. After a half hour in the heat, Tony brought food. With a full stomach they went flying a couple of times, but decided it was better to relax. Did Donna go traveling south? Has anyone seen her in recent days? |
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Night temperature fell to 9 degrees, but after lunch it was up to 26 degrees with quiet winds from the west.
Our A and F began their morning as usual departing at 5.30. Tony came around 1 p.m. to feed and check the situation. The nest was empty only a short time, so viewers have something to see! We’ll see how long A and F remain in the nest. Rightly, many in Estonia and elsewhere worry about C. Us, too, but our goal is to follow the natural process and not interfere. But if we knew C were in trouble somewhere, we might make an exception... We believe that C went first from the nest to live on his own, and we hope he’s managing well.
Photo: Arne Ader
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Again summer weather. 11 degrees at night and a hot 26 in the day.
Attentive viewers have heard gunshots through the camera microphone. The first of August began beaver and bird hunting.
Deer season continues. Probably they are hunting far from the nest on more open landscape. In the nest are only two chicks (A and F). We have no information on the fate of C. The chicks leave the nest before six and are on their own for two hours — obviously catching their own food and acquainting themselves with the world. |
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The trio left as a group this morning — it is hard to get used to an empty nest.
Pleasant partly cloudy weather and 20 degrees warm. Tony and Donna went to feed the chicks in midday. Only A and F ate in the nest. C was last in the nest at 10.45, when he went flying alone and didn’t come back in the evening. Hard to say where C could be, but he flew the best of the three, and he could fly quite far and begin his own independent life.
Photo: Arne Ader Hopefully, nothing bad has happened, though statistics tell us about half die before reaching their first birthday. The young cannot yet react to danger, for example they can walk on the roads and be run down by cars. Photo: Arne Ader
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The entire trio has demonstrated its flight skills. The smallest, A, got himself out of the nest around 7 a.m. Well done!
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Yesterday’s twelve hours of rain ended at 3 a.m — 18 mm of rain in the forest. Good that the chicks are used to sleeping standing up. Winds were 15 m/s — you’d surely worry about sea sickness. F and C practiced flying in midday and this came out pretty well, though A still hasn’t left the nest.
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In the morning, Chicks F and C went flying, the first at 6.45 and the other just after 7.00. There remained only the smallest in the nest.
10:55 – Interesting to watch will Donna bring food to the nest with only one chick home.
12.30 – Chick F came back to the nest. 14.17 – Chick C returned to the nest with great effort. |
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To celebrate the birthday we replaced Papa Tony’s old satellite radio with a new GPS version. Now we can see where Tony has been. Exact locations are logged daily every two hours in the backpack’s memory and every five days it’s automatically sent via satellite to our computer. The radio works on solar batteries.
Sunday morning we noticed the chick’s first flight from the nest. Chick C tried to land on a birch branch, but that maneuver failed and he probably landed on the forest floor. An hour and a half later, Chick C was back in the nest. In the meantime, only A-d was visible in the nest, because F also tried out his flight skills and disappeared, probably to a branch near the nest. We haven’t yet seen A attempt flight, but he was the smallest and his time will come... |
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The birthday night was foggy and 14 degrees, the day cloudy and maximum temperature 20 degrees in the forest. Papa left the nest around 8 a.m. in order to feed. Donna appeared in the evening and brought a large number of fish. It took the chicks a good amount of time to gather those all in the nest. Interesting, do the objects collected depending on the length of the parent’s beak? Tony’s beak is longer and he brings slightly larger food.
The chicks are demonstrating their flight skills by flying over the top of each other (flying out of camera frame). Evening rain didn’t allow them to sleep in the nest floor so they slept standing up.
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In the morning between three and four millimeters came and the nest became wet. Since the rain woke them up early, they slept in the morning. Air temperature at night was 16 degrees. After lunch the sun came out and brought summer temperatures - 23 degrees warm.
Today is our trio’s birthday: two months. Happy Birthday! In written accounts it’s noted that these storks begin to fly at age 56-71 days. We’re all impatient for this. |
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Rain fell on the morning side of night and caused the chicks to stand up in the dark. It was +17C. During the day it rained more with varying intensity almost 3 mm, with a maximum air
temperature of +19C. The parents have been taking good care of the chicks, though it is Donna was visible a couple of times today, and among the food she brought there was also some fish. Since Donna feeds the chicks clearly less than Tony, there is reason to assume that she will depart for autumn migration first. The link with the nest is gradually weakening. Three days ago, for example, Donna fed the chicks 2 times, while Tony came 7 times. For a short time it appeared that an unfamiliar Black Stork came and sat on a branch next to the There shouldn't be much more time before the first flights! |
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Summer weather continues in the nest forest, with a bout of rain hitting around mid-day. Nighttime minimum temperature +14C, and daytime air temperature high of +24C in the afternoon. Southerly winds up to 12 m/s.
We controlled the nest of Black Stork, Raivo, and three chicks received leg rings. It seems that they were all larger than those of Tony's threesome - in any case the weight of all of them exceeded the weight of a normal adult male by nearly half a kilogram. This year the chicks vomitted up a trouty porridge; last year it was mostly small pikes. When visiting the closest fish ponds, we learned of its source -- every morning one of the fish "farmers" put out
a few dead trout especially for the Black Storks. And because the fish are large, they are cut into lengthwise strips. This seems to please Raivo. We didn't see either of the adult birds while at the nest, though Raivo was sitting on a post by the fish ponds when we drove through after the ringing. Because we forgot the camera this time, we can show some pictures of the same place from last year. |
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After several dry days, a bit of rain fell. Rain drops could be heard tapping on the camera cover at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the feathers on the backs of the chicks got wet, not not much more. Nightime temperature was +13, maximum daytime temperature was around +20C.
One of our regular followers wrote:
"Interesting, do the adults use very small amounts of food (in other words, starvation) to coax the nestlings to fly out of the nest? Tony has visited the nest actively through the evening, though he doesn't appear to be bringing much to eat. Heck, with a full belly, why not just sit in the nest till Christmas, and wait for Santa Claus and his bag full of goodies... ".
A couple of days ago some Eagle Club members, together with a species protection specialist from the Estonian State Nature Conservation Centre, visited a Black Stork's nest in Haanja, which was built artificially a couple of years ago. And it was with great joy that a chick in white down plumage was found there! But there was also some doubt as to whether such a young chick will have enough time to fledge fully. With good luck, the bands on his legs will give us the answer.
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A beautiful summery weekend. Nighttime temperatures on Saturday night +13C and Sunday night +8C, with day highs reaching +22C. At the time of battery pack changing, for example, it was +20C in the nest forest. Lazier hay makers had a good chance to do their work.
In the video playback of Sunday's hottest moments you can see that the nestlings are already being cajoled to fly. It seems that the habit of sitting on the broken birch stump in the distance before coming in for the feed also serves to enhance the nestlings' feeling of need to take on their first flight. And it's about time, because it's rather difficult for the adults to spit up the fish from their crop with such strong and aggressive chicks fluttering about. The main food provider appears to be Tony. Donna appears rarely. Following the mid-day feeding (11:55 a.m.) Tony was circling above the nest forest for about 10 minutes, when into the scene also flew a White Stork and a Goshawk. Tony gained height and disappeared from view. |
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Strong westerly winds in the nest forest, with gusts up to 10 m/s. Low nighttime temperature of +14C, +22C in the afternoon. Nice semi-cloudy weather.
Eagle Club member, Ain, had a peek into the nest of another Black Stork, Raivo, and saw at least 3 chicks there. Even last year there appeared from the ground to be three chicks, while upon closer inspection, when banding, it turned out there were 4. Last year Raivo was outfitted with a GPS "backpack", which has helped reveal the details of his journey to his wintering grounds and back. More about Raivo can be learned from the homepage of the Eagle Club. |
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Warm night temperatures in the nest forest: +17C. Day temps warm, too, but windy, with gusts of more than 10 m/s. Two short bouts of light rain throughout the day - water beads
were visible on the backs of the chicks. It seems as though Tony is the more proficient fisherman. This morning he brought a big batch of fish - it seemed as if they were poured from a bucket. It was not possible to count them, but there could have been close to 20 fish. Before his arrival, Tony, too, sat on the broken birch in the clearing, checking to be sure, perhaps, that the coast is clear. Deciphering the nature of Donna's prey, in the very short span of time that anything is visible, is more difficult. |
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Record warm night temperatures at +18C, and daytime temps rising to +24C. Winds up to 14 m/s in the afternoon, occasionally blowing directly into the microphone to bury out all other sounds.
The chicks seem to have their flying lesson schedule in place; only one can try out its wings at a time. They also seem to have learned the act of napping while standing on only one leg. They have yet to attain perfect balance, but it is not bad for beginners. It's interesting - did the crucian carp from yesterday have such an engergizing effect? During the night the chicks were standing, not lying on the floor of the nest. With the improved new camera it is now possible to get a better idea of what Tony and Donna are feeding the chicks. For example, the chicks were fed 4 times before noon, and from within one of the portions delivered by Tony (at around 10 o'clock) one could count 16 fish. Donna in turn brought what seemed to be frogs; in any case it wasn't possible to distinguish the typical shape of fish (but of course among the zealously scuffling chicks it is difficult to see anything). Donna has the habit of sitting on a high broken-off birch stump about 40 metres from the nest before coming in for the feed, so the begging of the chicks lasts rather long before they are finally appeased. |
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Summer weather in the nest forest - nighttime temperature fell to +14C and in the evening at 6 p.m. it was +26C. During this hot time, just after the chicks had been fed, we changed the battery pack and camera lens, and moved the camera a bit closer to the nest. Hopefully this will improve the viewing. Though it may happen that the nestlings lift up out of the video frame during their flight practice.
As compensation for the disturbance we left 16 crucian carp for the threesome, which didn't sit for long once we departed. These were the first live fish in the nestlings' diet. Tony and Donna have also been feeding the chicks well, which means that on Monday, for example, they were fed 5 times. The highlights from the reality show at Tony's nest can be reviewed here through the EENet server (approx. 7 minute video stream). |
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Beautiful weather in the nest forest, though rather windy. Air temperature at night +15C and daytime temperatures reaching +23C degrees. The adults have been feeding the chicks well, though the rapidy growing nestlings would surely eat more and more... The young threesome is also quite active between feedings. At least while one of the chicks was doing his wing- beating exercises, we could see how his legs lifted a good distance from the nest below.
We have frequently been asked about the camera pointed at Tony's nest - what type and why this one in particular. After testing a variety of models we have settled on the "Mobotix M22M"
security camera. There are several advantages in this camera for this work -- the microphone provides better sound than the others tested, the picture can be automatically saved to the server at chosen intervals, and in addition to the video a higher resolution still photo is made every 5 minutes. Also, the video produced by the Mobotix is transferable to the media server, no separate weather-proof case is needed, there is a sufficient selection of lenses, etc. But perhaps the main advantage is the camera's efficiency - which, when being fed by a battery pack, is particularly important. Up till now we cannot complain about its durability. Our only complaint would be related to the software's heavy orientation to security purposes - some of its automatic functions for us are more of a nuisance than useful. Workers of EENet (Estonian Educational and Research Network, responsible for transferring the video stream via their server) are in contact with the manufacturer, and together they are looking for more flexible solutions. For our project it is important that we can field test the equipment without having to purchase it outright, and if it is not suitable for us, we can return it with no problems or penalty. |
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Saturday in the nest forest was without rain, though cloudy, with night temperatures around +14C and maximum daytime temperature of +20C. Some light rain fell at around 7 a.m. and
again around mid-day on Sunday, with temperatures similar to Saturday's. In the evening was some sunshine and wind. Over the weekend Eagle Club members checked some Black Stork nests in South Estonia, and of 7 nests there were only 2 with chicks. In the "neighborhood" of Tony and Donna there was a nest with 2 chicks, which were about a week younger than our familiar threesome.
These two were not banded, because a couple of metres below the nest in hole in the nest tree's trunk was a wasps' nest, and these are not amusing. There was nothing to do but climb back down. But it was possible to get a picture from the neighboring tree. In the area of Haanja in southern Estonia there was also a brood, but these were even smaller still. They were viewed from a distance, so their number is not yet known. In a nest in the south-eastern corner of Estonia, three chicks were found dead. The time of death was two or three weeks ago, and it wasn't possible to determine the cause; it could have been a raid by a pine
marten, when both of the adult birds were away from the nest. The remainder of the visited nests were empty. |
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It is a celebration of the middle of summer in the Estonian folk calendar, and our young friends are now 1 and 1/2 months old. The down feathers on the crowns have disappeared, and the chicks are looking quite like grown ups by now. It seems that the nest diameter of 120 cm is growing rather small - occassionally the chicks walk quickly from one side of the nest to the other to look out over the edge.
The first half of the day passed with no rain, the minimum and maximum temperatures +15C and +20C, respectively. Rain started to fall at around 4 p.m. Tony continued to feed the young even during the rain. The nestlings have not yet tried sleeping while on their feet, in the manner of the adult birds... |
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The first rain-free day of the week. Nighttime temperature in the nest forest +13C and maximum daytime temperature just around +20C.
Until the next rain showers the nest moss is more firm. The nestlings are drying out their rapidly developing plumage, and Tony and Donna have found good fishing sites and are feeding the chicks well. |
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The keyword of the last days in southern Estonia is undoubtedly rain. Rain fell in the nest forest this morning from 7 to 10 o'clock - not especially much (2mm), but nonetheless incessantly. The young ones huddled together for the duration of rainfall, with their heads
tucked in between their shoulders. And no luck seeing feeding by the parents during this time. The nest floor is squashy. The minimum and maximum temperatures throughout the day are rather similar, +15C and +17C, respectively. It's a good thing that the ditches and streams are filled with water, where young fish are moving, and which means Tooni and Donna don't have to fly too far in search for food. But the rain of the last days has also made the waterbodies murkier and raised the water levels, and fish have changed their location. This requires the adult birds to make corrections in their fishing strategy... but no doubt they are ready and able to make such corrections. |
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Precipitation statistics for this "Seven Brother's Day": between the the early morning hours and 8:00 a.m. it rained 1.7 mm; and after midday there were bouts 2 or 3 more times. Air temperature in the morning +14C. The siblings were busy drying themselves, during which the white down feathers noticeably grow less. By 16.45 the systems' batteries were replaced. At the onset of evening the air temperature rose to +19C.
The wings are being flapped in earnest - is the purpose of this to dry off the feathers, or is it flight practice? It is probably both. In any case, the wings are no longer merely for catching one's balance, but are being used more and more in their intended way... They also seem to be mastering the act of standing on one leg while scratching their head at the same time with the other. When it's time to go to bed, no one wants to lie down in the soaking bottom of the nest - a drier spot on the edge is sought. They put their heads together and night may come. |
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Steady rain in the nest forest throughout the day, only occasionally letting up. The night- and daytime temperatures did not differ much: +14C was the low and +18C the high. It's mid-summer in Estonia. Lime (Linden) trees are in blossom.
Tony and Donna have been diligently feeding the nestlings, the growing gereration preening with devotion and care. Clattering of beaks is heard from time to time - interesting, is this the way one's position in the clutch is determined... A lot has been done for the protection of the Black Stork in the Czech Republic. By the 1940's, only 4 nesting pairs were left there, but now more than 300 pairs of Black Storks are counted. The Czech national radio has been working to raise public consciousness for the last dozen years. In fact, when it was discovered that a radio-tracked Black Stork from the Czech Republic was shot down in France, hundreds of protest letters were sent to the French embassy. On his state visit to France, Czech president Vaclav Haveli requested an official apology from the French government for what had happened. |
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If Saturday's weather had only a light midday bout of rain to offer, then Sunday was a real rainy day - 7 mm of rain fell between morning and midday, with an additional 2 mm falling at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Sunday's maximum was hardly +20C, nighttime minimum +13C.
The chicks are rather skilled at drying their wet plumage, and in the course of this activity their white down feathers decline quickly. The rapidly developing new feathers need to be preened, and the white down feathers are seen stuck to the chicks' beaks. Both of the adult birds could be seen bringing food to the nest. Sometimes it were as if the chicks were readying themselves to accept a new portion of food, but no one landed on the nest. Probably one of the adult birds was just flying over... The Black Stork is distributed more-or-less throughout the whole of Estonia. But compared with a few decades ago, a westward-moving shift in higher concentration areas of nesting sites can be noted within the Estonian distribution. For example, before 1970, no nesting sites were known on the island of Saaremaa, while today Saaremaa is one of Estonia's counties with the highest concentration of Black Stork nesting sites. Similarly there are no |
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The difference between the minimum nighttime and maximum daytime temperatures was only a few degrees: +17C and +20C respectively. With wind gusts up to 10 m/s. Rain clouds threatened the whole day, with a heavy downpour finally letting loose at 16:40. None of the chicks wanted to lie down on the wet floor of the nest before 9 o'clock p.m.
Over the past 30 years the distribution area of Black Storks has been shifting in the direction of Western Europe. Sweden, Denmark (beginning of the 80's), Belgium (1982), Luxemburg (1985) and France (1976) have become re-inhabited. Nesting areas have been found in Iran (1994) and Italy (1994), where previously no recording of Black Stork nesting was made. A high reproduction rate is characteristic in re-inhabited regions, and it is likely that the |
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As is usual for Estonia, summer weather is unpredictable. The nighttime minimum was +15C, daily maximum +25C, with northeast wind gusts reaching 10 m/s. According to the forecasts, it should have been raining. The adults are having difficulty feeding the chicks - the nestlings shove and peck hard from three sides. Though it does seem that the adults are satisfied to see strong and healthy offspring in the nest, so the feeding is by no means upsetting.
During banding of the birds, we usually measure the following: * length of the wing (from the "elbow" to the tip of the longest feather); Starting from the smaller of the chicks, the measurements of the bird in their banding order are as follows (starting with the ring numbers): 703A wing-327mm; beak-91mm; weight-2.0 kg; It seems that the largest of the chicks is in fact the youngest - (s)he has the least amount of black feathers. |
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A warm and dusky summer night, temperatures not falling below +15C. Hazy summer day maximum +24C with the threat of rain throughout the day. A sprinkle around 6 p.m. refreshed
the surroundings. But the rain didnn't reach the hills of southern Estonia. Urmas was able to make hay till dark... The nest tree is an old aspen (diameter of ~50 cm.), which is approachable by the adult birds from only one direction. The nest is located in a spruce-dominated mixed forest where the older trees are more than one hundred years old. The nest tree height is about 25 metres, the surrounding spruces stretch upwards to 30 metres (one of which supports Kernel's antenna). The nest is located below the crown of the tree on the first strong side branches, and sits about 1.5 metres away from the trunk, about 12 metres high. The diameter of the nest is about 120 cm. |
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Summer is in full swing. At night it was +11C and at 3 p.m. +25C. But it's likely to turn to rain in a couple of days. But tomorrow there should still be good haying weather.
Let's have a closer look at the leg bands of Tony and Donna's chicks, because the camera's resolution doesn't allow us see them clearly enough to read them. For Black Storks in Europe today, white plastic bands with a four-figure black code are used. Every band is unique. The first number shows the country where the bird was banded - ours is 7, Latvia 0, and so on. In earlier years (from 1994) oranze bands with a black code, and green bands with white code have been used. Additionally, every banded bird receives a second, aluminum band, because plastic bands are not as durable and may deteriorate after several years. |
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Beautiful summer weather, +13C at night in the nest forest. The day temperature - at the time of the banding - rose to +24C.
For those yesterday who were late, or couldn't watch the online banding for whatever reason, it is now possible to view the recording of the whole procedure!, provided by the Estonian Education and Research Network (EENet). In the upcoming days we'll write about the strategic measurements and other thoughts. We are grateful for the many letters of support and interest that you have sent. We are interested in hearing from you! If we undertake something similar to the woodcam again next year, we may create a forum so that interested followers can communicate directly with other. |
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Weekend nights in the nest forest barely +14C, and maximum temperature on Sunday, the day of Estonia's famous song festival, +22C degrees. The nest and nestlings are dry again. Life at the nest progresses peacefully, though the chicks are zealous in their daily activities. Space in the nest is becoming more scarce, so more pushing and shoving is more usual, and the strength of the wings needs to be tested... The chicks' white plumage is giving way by the hour.
We plan to band the chicks on Monday at around 3 o'clock p.m., before which we'll replace the batteries. We hope that the weather will favour us (which means no rain), as well as the viewer (cloudy, for better viewing). Tony and Donna's chicks are of average size; in other nests controlled this year we have found both larger and smaller sized chicks. But the majority of nests are empty, only some signs of them being occupied - fresh moss in or excrement under the nest - have been found. This, unfortunately, is the case from year to year... The nesting of another satellite-tagged protagonist from the EAGLELIFE project, Jaak, was unfortunately unsuccessful. |
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Rain showers in the night lasted for a couple of hours, air temperature +12C. Rain was more intense during the day and only a couple of degrees warmer. The air cleared in the evening, allowing the chicks to dry themselves in the wind. The chicks are now standing firmly and their steps are becoming more sure. Feeding the shoving chicks is becoming more complicated for the adults - Donna, for example, seemed to have difficulty maintaining her balance.
Due to rain, we're pushing the banding of the chicks into the beginning of next week. Our friends in Poland have already written, that it's time... Our camera has aroused interest in Canada and Hong Kong, and video clips from our camera can be found here and there. For example: |
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Cloudy weather dominated in the nest forest for most of the day, with a bit of sunshine in the morning and some rain in the evening hours. The nighttime minimum and daytime maximum temperatures didn't differ greatly, +11 and +14C respectively.
We're planning to go and ring (band) the chicks on Friday afternoon, but, if the weather is unsuitable, we'll wait until Monday or Tuesday. This will allow us to recognize these individuals sometime in the future - for example, when their breeding years start in three or four years and someone happens to spot one of them. Who knows, maybe one will be seen on a webcam somewhere. Rather many Black Storks are spotted on fish ponds in Israel, including some from Estonia. For example, last year one of the GPS-equipped Black Storks, Raivo, from Lääne Viirumaa county and one young bird from Viljandi county were observed there.
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Our threesome has a birthday today - they are one month old. Happy Birthday!
The chicks' birthday began with rainfall, which continued until 6 o'clock, and totalled 1.7 centimetres. Fortunately it was not cold, +13C degrees. The nestlings have learned that they will get less wet if sitting, as oppossed to lying, in the nest. And so their night passed. During the day there were also rain showers, and temperatures didn't rise above +16C degrees. Strong winds prevailed through the day, and in the evening around 8 o'clock even reached 16 metres per second. The initial plan is to ring (band) the chicks on Friday, 29 June, if the weather permits (if it's not raining). We'll forward more detailed plans on Friday morning. |
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Tony and Donna are diligently feeding the rapidly growing chicks. Nighttime temperature +13C and near +23C in the afternoon. The weather is good - eat, grow, nap and be spunky, practice walking and get to know your wings.
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A cloudy night in the nest forest and +14C, relatively strong winds from the west, occassionally over 10 m/s. After midday the sun also appeared. Thunder roared around 1 o'clock p.m., but the storm didn't hit.
The nestlings are already so large that it's time to think about ringing them... |
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On the eve on St. John's Day our protagonists enjoyed lovely weather, while at about 2 o'clock a.m. rain started to fall. Temperatures remained warm -- +14C. Three millimetres of rain fell between 2 and 6 a.m. and some light thunder showers occurred later in the afternoon. The day's maximum temperature +20C.
The rapid growth of the chicks is remarkable, and it now seems that the act of standing is being mastered and walking on the nest is really "in." Several of our regular viewers have inquired about what happened with the White Stork chicks in Poland at the beginning of June. Though we can't understand Polish, we received some information from the project leader, Monika. From one of the three eggs a chick did not hatch. It wasn't a "rotten" egg, the chick had simply died while still in the egg. Two chicks hatched on 1-2 June, one of which died on 11 June. The diagnosis was a fungal infection - (Aspergillus furmigatus). The second chick was removed from the nest and given over to veterinarian care, but it unfortunately also died (15 June), probably to the same disease (exact diagnosis still uncertain). Some excerpts from the forum are in English, too. Caring for the second chick, (unfortunately only in Polish). With some German text as well. Monika relates that following the activities at Tony and Donna's nest is quite widespread in Poland... |
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A cloudless night, with temperatures at +10C; the freezing temperatures of the forecasts did not come. As the chicks grow, they need increasingly greater amounts of food. Rain from Latvia should reach the nest forest by St. John's Day (24 June). This has its plusses and minuses. On the positive side, the rain should bring additional water to the drying ditches and streams, so that life in them will persist. On the down side, for some days after rain fishing in clouded waters is more difficult. Though the rain may not make it at all...
The young nestlings seem to have figured out that the warmest place is in the middle, and it's entertaining to watch how they manoeuvre for the best spot. One presses his beak between the two other sleepers, and nudges open a little space into which to nestle. On Monday we'll comment on the events of the holiday... |
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On the day of summer's beginning, the chicks are often alone in the nest, as is now the norm. The night low was +5C and the day's maximum temperature less than +20C. Rain showers fell in the nest forest at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
Feeding the rapidly growing nestlings is causing difficulty for the adult birds - when they arrive at the nest the food is vomitted to the nest floor, after which they immediately leave for more fishing. The chicks need to practice standing up, which isn't so easy on two very long legs. It seems that the smallest of the nestlings, the one with the least black in his plumage, is also the more eager. After taking care of "business," he likes to daddle a bit on the high edge of the nest, from where it's good to look down over his bigger brothers-sisters.
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Clear weather, with nighttime temperatures falling to +6C. As has become the norm, the chicks were alone at the nest. Breakfast was served by both Tony and Donna. The feeding takes place very quickly; it is necessary to fly off immediately for a new crop-ful of fish.
Black Storks start to nest during their 3rd or 4th year, by which time they have all the characteristics of adult birds. During their second summer of life young storks do not usually return from the wintering grounds, though there are exceptions. We have not placed radio or satellite transmitters on young storks from Estonia, so we do not have our own data about their movement. Birds hatched from nests in the southern hemisphere may behave differently, so research results from those regions cannot be used unchecked.
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Nice weather! +10C through the night, and daytime temperatures hardly reached +20C. Breakfast for the chicks was served at 7 a.m., after which Tony spent an hour at the nest, bringing 4 or 5 beakfulls of nest material. Apparently the nest bedding needed refreshment. Donna fed the nestlings at 8 o'clock. At around 3 p.m. rain showers passed through the nest forest, and viewers noticed a brief interruption in the transmission at around 4 p.m., while the systems' batteries were changed. Neither of the adult storks were near the nest at that time.
The new camera is surprisingly efficient -- a week of operation does not significantly tax the battery pack. The beak of the adult birds are not always the same tone of red. During winter and migration time the beak is duller and more brownish, while it turns bright red for the start of the breeding period. The male's beak is longer than the female's. The beak is an efficient, strong and sharp "tool" of protection, which should be avoided, for example, during ringing. And it makes one wonder how the adults' eyes remain intact at feeding time, when there's a rather fierce pecking going on... |
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A few short rain showers passed through the nest forest during the day, temperatures at night +14C and +18C during the day. Our youngsters were on their own through the night, and daytime feedings at the nest by Tony and Donna lasted no more than a minute. It seems that the search for food is increasingly time consuming.
Up through the 6th week of life the beak of the Black Stork is lemon-yellow in color, and between days 38 and 46 it becomes greenish-yellow (opposite to the ripening of a lemon). And somewhere around the 56th day the beak turns greyish-green. There is no documentation about when the beak turns red, but it is probably during the stork's second year of life. |
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The temperatures in the nest forest didn't fall below +13C during the weekend, and Sunday's maximum temperature was only +17C. Saturday's promised rain arrived on Sunday morning.
The chicks huddle together, to minimise the heat loss through wet feathers. All in all, during their short lifetime, these nestlings have been lucky in terms of weather. While Tony remained at the nest on Saturday night, the chicks awoke on Sunday morning without either of the parent's watchful eye. There was a failure in the video transmission on Sunday from 5:30 - 11:00 a.m. |
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The nestlings were again left alone for the night. The adult birds could, of course, be spending the night close to the nest, but we don't know for sure.
A strong cold wind in the early morning forced the chicks to huddle together on the nest floor. They were fed for the first time at around 8 o'clock a.m., by Tony. Nighttime temperature +12C and daytime maximum +18C. Wind speeds at mid-day on the flats were 16 metres per second. The weather is now becoming more typical for this time in Estonia - colder and more variable. |
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The chicks passed the night (+12C) in the nest without their parents' protection. Day temperatures did not rise above +22C. Tony and Donna fed the nestlings regularly throughout the day. Donna inspected the nest and decided that it needed more nest material. The rain, long awaited by farmers, has still not come. Life is beautiful. And, again, going into the night, the adults have not come to the nest...
Our understanding of Black Stork nesting behaviour has been significantly corrected. Up until now we believed that unfledged chicks were not left at the nest without protection from one of the adult birds. However, the early "test of independence" may explain quite a bit about early nesting failure - the unprotected young are rather easy prey for a marten or Goshawk. |
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Donna was on night duty. She flew off to hunt at 6 a.m., and Tony arrived with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. He brought only one fish, which was at least 20 cm long and probably over 100 grams, and with which he seemed to have some trouble retrieving from his crop. The largest of the nestlings gorged the fish into his gullet, after which he sat with his beak closed and extended upwards, and when his beak opened, the fish tail "popped" out... This doughty little glutton stood for 20 minutes with a straight neck, and when Donna came 30 minutes later for the next feeding, the same character gulped down the largest of the fish, even whilst the tail from the previous still stuck out from his beak... During the day it looked as if the overeating was a rather problematic act.
Nighttime temperatures were warm - +14C, wind speeds during the day 12-15 m/s. The chicks are rather greedy when it comes to eating - the one who is first to get his share is most likely to survive. Food which has already been gulped down is not likely to be vomited up (the brothers/sisters would be on it quickly); only when disturbed are they likely to vomit up the food from their crop. Which may help, for example, in the case of an attack from a marten. In any case, while ringing Black Storks, they often vomit, which allows us to learn about their diet. |
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Nighttime temperature in the nest forest +10C, and not too hot during the day, with some light rain and occasional strong gusts of wind. Last night, for the first time, the nestlings were left alone at the nest through the night. The chicks are now left for quite long periods without "adult supervision," which now seems to be becoming the norm. Apparently food is no longer readily available close by. Many of the forest streams have dried out. The chicks are fed more or less every couple of hours.
Between 6:20 and 6:40 pm, during a time when neither of the adult birds were at the nest, we replaced the system batteries. The batteries powering the new camera lasted a week with no problems. We'll see, will the chicks again be left alone through the night? Donna did come back to the nest at 9.10 p.m., and it looks like she is planning to stay... |
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The nighttime temperature +10C in the nest forest, and daytime temperatures slightly cooler than previous days, +22C.
Today, the tots are half a month old, and they have discovered that sleeping in the direct sun is not wise; they search out the shady spots on the nest. Standing is still not attainable for the chicks, though it is being practiced in earnest. Viewers have complained that Donna is seen at the nest very infrequently. Though the nestlings awoke under her guard this morning and she was at the nest feeding them at around 7 p.m. |
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Warm nighttime temperatures of +15C and daytime highs around +25C. Life at the nest is peaceful.
In the beginning of 2004, the European Commission decided to finance the project "Protection and Management of Spotted Eagles and Black Stork in Estonia (EAGLELIFE)". The project period was scheduled to cover a 50 month time period (through May 2008). Placing satellite transmitters on the backs of the Black Storks was one of the project activities, and this, together with other project activities, has allowed us to significantly increase our knowledge about the needs and dangers of Black Storks. Other EAGLELIFE project activities include the restoration of feeding areas of the Black Stork and eagles (clearing brush overgrowth around forest streams used for feeding, management (mowing) of floodplain meadows in Soomaa National Park) and the purchase of land where Black Stork nests are located to the State. The webcam at the nest of Tony and Donna is also partly an activity of the EAGLELIFE project, however it is the support of business sponsors which has made it possible to be launched at a greater level than planned. |
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Another hot day, nighttime minimum temperatures at +6C. The camera picture is now visible from 3:30 a.m. through 11:15 p.m. Tony guarded the chicks through the night and Donna came to the nest with food at 6:15 a.m.; then left the nest at 9:10 for a few minutes. At 12:35 p.m. the chicks were left alone for more than 3 hours. And again, at around 5 p.m., for another half an hour. So it seems that yesterday's "abandonment" of the chicks was not an exception, but is rather the way life at the nest is likely to continue.
There is no other way to meet the chick's need for water than through the food brought to the nest by their parents. The adult birds are also able to bring water in their throats for the thirsty nestlings. All three chicks are eagerly trying to stand up. In the nest, cleanliness is respected - excrement is let out around the very edge of the nest, or over the edge and down... |
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Minimum nest forest temperatures +11C at night, maximum during daytime +25C. It is hot for everyone.
Today, around midday, the chicks were for the first time alone at the nest. And again for at least a half an hour from 4:30 p.m.; and again at 7:40 p.m. Tony left the nest without waiting for Donna to first return. Apparently the chicks are sufficiently grown and "sensible". Though they are doubtfully fit to withstand an attack by a marten or raven... Another critical period in the lives of the nestlings has arrived. And hopefully the beginning drought has not yet caused scarcity of food... |
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Minimum nighttime temperature +7C and at 4 p.m. +27C. Tony and Donna and the nestlings are living a peaceful family life. The afternoon hot sun caused Tony to pant heavily through an open beak. The chicks today are 10 days old.
The chicks' abililty to take food is continuously improving. The main food source of Black Storks is small fish. Amphibians and insects, mammals to a lesser extent, are also on the menu. The hunt for food takes place while actively moving (along a stream, bank, meadow, etc.). When hunting in water, in order to create shade over the prey, it is typical for the Black Stork to hold its wings in a spread out position.
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Minimum nighttime temperature +6C, maximum daytime temperature +25C. Early Summer has begun.
We took advantage of favourable conditions and replaced the internet camera this afternoon.
By 6:20 p.m. the work was completed. Tony returned to the nest about 35 minutes later, and Donna 20 minutes after Tony. Life at the nest resumed its normal rhythm. Tony was on nest duty through the night. The new camera has a better picture in low light, however it seems that there are difficulties with the audio transmission. The images from the new camera are better than the last, but there is still plenty of room for improvement... |
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The night was clear, temperatures only +5C, with northeasterly wind. Tony covered the nest through the morning, Donna served breakfast to the hungry nestlings a few minutes before 10 o'clock, after which Tony made 3 short trips to bring back nest material to make life more comfortable.
The Estonian Meterological and Hydrological Institute predicts a warmer month of June than normal, with minimal precipitation. The number and quality of feeding places is of utmost importance in terms of survival and reproductive success for the birds. In Estonia, Black Stork feeds in diverse biotopes - from fish farms to plowed fields. In undisturbed places it prefers to feed in open streams and rivers. In places closer to human activity, it favors places protected by tall vegetation, and in fish-rich water bodies, feeding takes place in early morning, when there are fewer disturbances. Our camera's battery pack is undergoing service... please be patient... |
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+7C in the nest forest during the night. Though the sun is shining, the daytime temperatures are rather chilly, and northwest wind gusts are reaching 10 m/s, so it's necessary to protect and warm the chicks more frequently. It is full moon time - a time of restlessness amongst the birds and other animals.
At this time, insufficient food supply should not be a problem for Tony and Donna. There is plenty of water in the forest streams, so the adult birds can hunt at their favorite feeding places. Some hunting trips have taken only ten minutes, making it seem that a cache with a pile of fish is somewhere close. During the course of the summer, largely as a result of drainage systems, the small forest streams dry out, making it necessary to go further to larger rivers, or even to frequent fish farms. Tony and Donna have these possibilities available... |
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Nightime temperature in the nest forest +11C, and windy. Rain fell at around 4 a.m. Tony was in the nest. Donna arrived to feed the young at 9:25 a.m. The chicks are already swallowing small fish whole (fish length 5-7 cm). The nest is regularly adjusted and tidied. With cooler daytime temperatures, the adult on nest duty warms the chicks frequently.
The nesting territory for Tony and Donna has been known to us since 1995, and in this period there have been 3 fledglings three times, and 2 fledglings 5 times. Additionally, 3 times the chicks were dead on inspection (from pine marten predation or reason unknown). In the remaining years either no chicks hatched or the pair nested elsewhere and nesting was not recorded. So, in this nesting territory, four young have never fledged. The checking of nests takes place only once per year, in July, when leg bands are placed on the young, so there is no way to know if more chicks may have hatched from the eggs. We also do not know for how long Tony has been nesting at this site. We do know, however, that he has been in this territory during the past 3 years. If to take Estonia on the whole, 4-chick nests are not all that unusual. But the average number of chicks in all known Estonian Black Stork nests is about one, which indicates that many pairs do not raise any chicks at all. In fact last year all of the eggs in Jaak's (another satellite tracked Black Stork) nest were broken in the course of fighting with another bird of the same species. Could this imply that there are not sufficient nesting sites for even the present low number of Black Storks? |
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Nighttime temperature reached a minimum of +14C. Donna was on the nest through the night, and Tony came to feed the chicks at around 11 a.m.
Then, at around 3 p.m., something happened that most viewers were probably not ready for - Tony found that four chicks were too many and rid the nest of one of them. Donna returned shortly after the incident and life at the nest resumed peacefully. Tony returned with food at 17.45 p.m., nothing in his behavior indicated that "something" had happened. The "correction" in numbers of offspring is nothing unusual in the animal kingdom, though it may seem unpleasant or disgusting to modern humans. It is not, of course, unknown in human societies, either, if to think back through human history (famine, wars of conquest, etc.) or to family policies in some Asian countries. The reason for this (infantcide) in the animal kingdon is purely an evolutionary adaptation, which in the end secures greater health and sustainability for the species. If the adults overexpend their energy in raising young one year, they may not be fit to reproduce at all the following year. Or insufficient energy (food) for the full brood puts the entire clutch at risk of not reaching healthy adulthood. Tony's evolutionary memory tells him what he needs to do. Let's just hope that our pair doesn't find it necessary to raise a two-chick clutch. These hopes are justified, as last year three chicks were successfully raised.
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A warm summer night at the nest - +19C. Tony tended to the chicks through the morning, and again in the afternoon from about 3 p.m. The lurking thunderstorm reached the nest forest around 5 p.m., so Tony got to play "umbrella," standing with legs spread over the nestlings. In such warm conditions, Papa didn't need to warm the chicks, though when the clutch became more wet and cooled down, just before 6 p.m., Tony responded and sat down on them. Donna came to relieve Tooni of baby-sitting duty after 6 o'clock, when the rain had waned, and then started feeding the clutch with small fish which she carried in her throat. It seems that somehow Donna has a more polished way of dealing with the young.....
For those who do not yet know, Tony can be identified by the plastic white band on his right leg (above the "knee"), as well as by the less visible antenna on his back. Donna does not have any particular identifying "marks", though she is a bit smaller than the male. Due to the webcam observations, our understanding of nestling care has changed somewhat -- it was assumed earlier that the mother bird stayed at the nest while the father constantly went back and forth gathering food for the family...
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Early summer night, +17C in the nest forest. In the morning hours Tony protected his tiny nestlings in the down feathers under the wings. Will the distribution of nest duties remain the same as during incubation, we will see...
Black Stork chicks remain bellied to the bottom of their nest during the first week after hatching, and after 2 or 3 weeks attempt to stand up. At least that's what the literature tells us, but let's see how it unfolds in our nest. |
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The camera is now back in working order, and during the silence all 4 chicks have hatched. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Weather in the nest forest at 5 p.m. +28C.
It was not necessary, after all, to replace the camera - the problem was rather a still unknown internet "curse". While the repair work was going on Tony arrived at the nest with food. Donna's welcoming beak clacking and the squeaking of the chicks could be heard from about 40 metres away. The extreme caution displayed by the repairmen was worthwhile - neither Donna nor Tony seemed to notice their presence. The scene, however, might have appeared rather theatrical to the bystander -- three men crawling on the forest floor in slow motion, trying in complete silence to make themselves understood to each other, and the constant "slow motion" flailing to keep the mosquitoes away... At 8:15 p.m. we lost contact with the camera, but this time the evildoer was lightning somewhere farther away. |
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We are very sorry to report that there are technical problems with the webcam. We're first looking for a solution from afar; but we are also preparing for a possible camera replacement.
Insodoing the security of life at the nest must come first. We will let viewers know as soon as the camera is running again.
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Nightime temperature +10C in the nest forest. Donna was away from the nest for nearly a full day and returned in early morning. Now it's time for Tony to have a break for a while. When the chicks hatch, there will be loads of activity. At 5 p.m. it was +26C in the nest forest. Tony turns the eggs and airs out the nest material, and when he sits on the nest he holds his beak open, indicating that it is unusually hot.
Last year, another Black Stork, Raivo, was tagged with a GPS transmitter. He is now checking out feeding places up to 10 to 15 kilometres from his nest. For when his chicks arrive, there won't be any more time for that. Raivo is nesting about 40 km to the northeast of Tony and Donna, in Lääne-Virumaa County.
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Despite daytime temperatures reaching +22C in the nest forest, it was only +3C during the night. For the greater part of the day Tony has been on nest duty, and is on the nest into the night shift as well; Donna has not appeared. With warmer temperatures, the incubators have more time to stand and stretch their legs - they don't have to worry about the eggs cooling down. Calls and drumming of the Black Woodpecker are audible around the camera.
The nest tree of Tony and Donna is one of the oldest aspens in the forest. In Estonia, the average age of trees supporting Black Stork nests is 121 years. Data from Lithuania show a similar age, in Latvia they are somewhat older, but it is clear that in all the Baltic States the ages of the actual nest trees are considerably higher than those in the surrounding forest stand. Thus, for the Black Stork, it is very important that during the course of forest management activities, old trees are left standing. It is not enough only to rely on nature reserves.
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The first really warm night - +9C - with weather just as one would hope for on the weekend.
Among all members of the stork family (by zoological classification "Ciconiidae"), the Black Stork is the most widely distributed in the world. According to reseach conducted by colleagues in Latvia, Black Storks have been recorded in 105 countries, with nesting birds in
44 countries and wintering birds in 26 countries. The distribution range is widening in Western Europe, however the rows of these stork ambassadors in our region are thinning. The first recording of Black Stork nesting in South Africa is from 1908. |
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The morning bright and sunny, nighttime temperatures in the nest forest at +6C. At 9.30 a.m.
Donna arranged all 4 eggs in the vertical position and checked them over carefully. During incubation, it is critical that there is plenty of warmth in the nest. In addition, there must be appropriate moisture, so the embryo within the eggshell does not dry out.
Fortunately, this spring there is no issue with moisture. In previous years at this time, there has been a dry period. We can only hope that at the outset of incubation there was enough warmth. At least we have not noticed a time during the incubation where the clutch was left alone by both of the adult birds. |
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Beautiful spring weather, which is starting to feel like early summer. Nighttime minimum temperature +4C, with day temperatures reaching +20C. Tony incubated throughout the day, Donna appeared and took over duty at the nest at 6:45 p.m.
Seven to nine more days until the awaited hatching of the first chicks... |
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Life at the nest has been rather calm and routine for Tony and Donna (while not the case for the English chronicle editor, apologies). Our protagonists continued incubating and adding material to their growing nest. Following a strong thunderstorm on Tuesday, spring is accelerating in bounds...
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The 13th. Though it's not Friday, it's been a day of bad luck. The battery pack unexpectedly died. The live transfer was interrupted for 13 hours, during which viewers could watch recorded material. From 8 p.m. the show could resume.
For the second night in a row it was Tony who sat on the nest the night through. As if he had read our chronicle...
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Nighttime fog and temperatures below zero. A beautiful and sunny day at the nest. At 2:06 p.m. there was an incident at the nest. Something agitated our incubating Black Stork. Most likely it was a mammal (perhaps a marten), which Tony was able to drive away by intense hissing and clacking of his beak. The disruptor himself did not enter our view.
Tony and Donna's nest rests in lateral branches of an old aspen, about 1.5 meters away from the main trunk. The aspen's trunk is just out of the camera's view, to the right.
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It started raining in the nest forest around 3 a.m., nighttime temperatures were around +5 C. The steady rain ceased at mid-day, occasional showers occured later in the afternoon. While
observing the incubation over the past days, it seems that Donna incubates through the night and morning, while Tony sits on nest duty all afternoon. The occasional crackling in the morning is not coming from the nest, but is caused by the rain. Louder thumps come from water drops falling from higher on the tree to the camera body. A selected sound reaches our computer speakers through the camera's internal microphone, which is often distorted or magnified on its way through the system. This causes the "bird song" resembling a light chirping of frogs.
If any of Tony and Donna's friends happen to be sound system specialists, or have suggestions for improving the sound quality from our camera, we would like to hear from them (urmas@kotkas.ee). We believe that the microphone transferring voices of the forest to us is an important part of the project, giving us an even better understanding of life around
the nest. We have been searching the internet for similar video stream webcams, but have found none. The only comparable initiative with Black Storks is by Hungarian colleagues monitoring a nest in the alluvial forest of the Danube by camera for the last 3 years:
www.blackstork.hu. White stork chicks have recently hatched in Germany!: And in Poland, the incubation continues: |
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A clear night in the nest forest, temperature +4C degrees. At 10 a.m., Tony flew in with a new bunch of nest material and Donna responded by quickly spreading it around the 4 eggs. We went in to replace the battery pack which feeds the camera to ensure that there will be no interruption in the transfer over the weekend.
We have been asked by some followers whether Tony is still carrying his 'backpack." Is he still equipped with the satellite and radio transmitter, which allowed us to carefully follow him around and learn where he liked to feed?
The closely observing viewer will in fact see the antenna of the transmitter poking out from the feathers on Tony's back. His other distinguishing mark is the white plastic band on his right leg. Unfortunately, by today the transmitter is completely dead. We haven't been successful in re-capturing him to replace it with a new one. We were very close last year, but in the end came up empty handed. The transmitter worked successfully for one and a half years - to be more specific, the satellite signal was received for 8 months and the radio signal for one and a half years. The latter is only possible to detect from a relatively short distance - about 2 kilometres, and requires a special receiving unit.
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The nights still don't want to get warm - the air temperature remains around +5C degrees, with haze floating till mid-day. At around 8 o'clock a.m., Tony brings new nest material, but Donna doesn't yield her place on the eggs. Given that the incubation period started after the second egg was laid, today is the 17th day of incubation. So, our reality show protagonists are roughly half-way through the incubation period.
An attentive follower of the webcam wrote that it seemed almost as if a Corncrake were calling somewhere near Tony and Donna's nest. This is hardly possible, as corn crakes don't live in forests, they are birds of meadows and open landscapes. However, in some circumstances a Chaffinch call could sound rather similar. Unfortunately, the camera's internal microphone isn't of great quality, and the camera's cover also distorts the sounds. On
the other hand, this is the first try with such an undertaking, so we're not complaining... |
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The weather pleasantly warm and misty, with nighttime temperatures not dipping below +5.5C degrees. Tony and Donna share incubation duty, frequently turning the eggs and tidying the nest.
There's more that distinguishes Tony from Donna than the band on Tony's leg. Ordinarily, female storks are slightly smaller and with a shorter beak than the males, though understanding this through the camera's picture is very difficult. Colleages from the Czech Republic have found that the male birds should be at least 3 kilograms. In 2005, Tony weighed in at just 3.05 kg, and at that time he was identified as a female - wisdom comes slowly. Donna's "strategic" measurements are presently unknown.
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The nighttime minimum temperature was +2 degrees C. The day was the first really warm one of our everchanging spring. At around 10 a.m. a cuckoo called 5 times, and continued singing after mid-day for a rather long time. The eggs are being carefully turned and our beloved birds seem to be enjoying themselves. The female, Donna, took over incubation duty at around 6 p.m.
Donna?... Yes, it was not right nor fair to be always saying "Tony's mate" or "the female bird" - so, a couple of weeks ago, the project team decided that "she" needed a name, and announced a contest to find her one. The NGO Eagle Club received 122 e-mails from Mooni ("Mony" (23); Tuuli (19), Donna (18), Triinu (12), Teele (10), Tiina (9), Maali (6), Leeni (6), Toonik(a) (5) and Toomas (?!,5). The decision was trusted to the pupils at the Valgjärve elementary school and, thus, "she" was adorned with the name Donna. Many other interesting and unusual name offerings were made, for example Coco, Gruke, Lada, Milkivei, Putiiki and others. We learned from a writer that a long time ago in Estonia there were not particular names for boys and girls, and thus names Toomases, Juhans and Oswalds were suggested (or perhaps some viewers remembered that when "Tooni" was first tagged with a satellite belt "he" was believed to be a "she"...) The winner of the name contest, chosen by a draw of all offering the name "Donna", is Kerli Lillemaa, who will be awarded the DVD "ABCs of Estonian Eagles and Black Storks." A second DVD will be given to the 6th grade students of the Kuldre School and their teacher Tiina Ruusmaa, who collectively also offered many good names.
Many thanks to all participants, and best wishes for many exciting adventures in nature - in both the real and the virtual.
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On Sunday the juice in the webcam's battery pack ran out. The unexpected cold weather of last week caused greater energy drain than predicted (7 days instead of 9). Urmas went out to make the exchange just after dark, as it's risky to go near the nest in daylight - if disturbed, the sensitive Black Storks could abandon their nest...
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A lovely spring day at last! -- a crisp morning and sunshine virtually the whole day through.
The incubating birds enjoyed sitting on the nest, and onlookers were few. It being Saturday, the nice weather apparently coaxed Tony's friends out to experience Spring..... Up till now, no one has ever monitored full incubation of a Black Stork's nest in Estonia, so the length of incubation is not precisely known. This has been measured elsewhere, with differing results - from 30-38 days. What is referred to as the start of incubation is not always clearly defined, which can result in an error of up to 6 days. This is difficult to determine in our case as well - it could be that the storks sat on the eggs from the very beginning primarily to keep the ravens at bay. In any case, the chicks should begin to hatch at the end of May - at least up till now everything has been proceeding well...
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Last night's temperature was a degree warmer than the previous. Light rain started around mid-night and fell steadily till 9:30. Heavy showers continued on and off throughout the day, causing tapping on the camera body. But rain is needed for spring germination! Not sure, though, how fond Tony is of it.
Literature tells us that Black Storks usually lay eggs with 2 day intervals. One and 3 day intervals have also been noticed. Which means the full clutch is obtained in a 6 to 8 day period. How does this compare with Tony's nest? The first egg was laid on the 20th of April, the second on the 22nd, third on the 24th and fourth on the 26th. Our stork pair followed the rules! Incubation typically starts after the second egg has been laid, but the nest is usually cooled occasionally up until the final egg of the clutch has been laid. Still, chicks tend to hatch within intervals of a couple of days.
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Temperature zero at 5 a.m., a continued northerly wind. This doesn't silence the dawn chorus in the surrounding forest. Tony's fans discussed yesterday's cold and snow and whether it could negatively affect the incubation. The snow melted in the forest only later in the afternoon. Virtually every year our storks experience bouts of cold and snow during incubation ... so this year should not be seen as extraordinary! Tony was on incubation duty in the morning. The nest's bedding is being turned and dried.
Egg size of Black Storks varies to a rather large degree. Length - 60-76 mm; width - 45-56 mm; weight 81-96 grams. Eggs are white in color, which shades of gray. Four eggs is the most common clutch size. A seven egg clutch has been recorded (Brjansk region, Russia in 1989), which may have been the result of two birds laying eggs in the same nest (which does happen once in a while with other species as well). Six birds, though, have indeed hatched
and fledged, for example, in Poland and China. |
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Around Tony's nest site it's been raining since 11 a.m., and from 2 p.m. heavy sleet fell. The temperature has been around zero. Not only was the nest of the stork covered in white, but its back as well. Which means that the plumage of the stork is an excellent heat insulator. The incubating bird rose occassionally to stretch the legs, but only for a few seconds...
The weather forecast promises the continuation of unstable and cold weather with more precipitation in the form of both rain and snow. According to the prediction of the Estonian Meterological and Hydrological Institute (EMHI), the weather will warm considerably during the second week of the month.
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The coldest night yet for the pair - minus 1.2 degrees with a raw norhtherly wind. At a couple of minutes past 8 in the morning Tony came to substitute his partner. Both birds were together at the nest for no more than 5 minutes, Tony settled to incubate, his mate off to feed. There are still 4 eggs in the clutch, which is now full. One bird was on the nest overnight.
We have some interesting results from research related to Tony's feeding behavior. Two years ago we were eager to know if Tony would start to feed from forest streams and ditches in his breeding territory which were cleared from overgrowth and bushes. Indeed, one of the reasons for insufficient food base for Black Storks may in fact be thick bush overgrowth along waterways otherwise suitable for feeding - Tony started visiting the cleared away areas right
away. Unfortunately, that year Tony had no clutch and fed only to meet his own needs. |
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Our stork pair’s morning “visitors” saw the nest of this warm-climate bird white with snow. The temperature at 7 o’clock was only 0.6 degrees, snow was falling and a northerly wind gusting at 10m/s.
The female stork remains on incubation duty. Last night Tony did not return to the nest to overnight. |
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It was a cold morning; at 6:00 the temperature was slightly over 2 degrees at the nest and a light snow dusting covered the nest and forest floor. It seems that active incubation is underway.
Black Storks nest mainly in central and eastern Europe, to a lesser extent also in western Europe. The Black Storks of Europe winter in tropical Africa, Israel and the southern part of Spain.
In the evening the camera’s batteries were changed, resulting in a brief interuption of the video transmission.
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Nest “decorating” with mosses continues. It seems that everything is more or less ready for the actual incubation period to start.
A few words about the nest before us. Starting last year, Tony and his mate have nested at this particular site. Last year they successfully raised 3 young.
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It was an uneventful day (we were kind of waiting for a fifth egg to be laid). Rain fell in the morning, making it sound as if something were knocking on the camera body. Tony was “lost” all morning and arrived at the nest at 13:35. He then immediately took over incubation duty from the female. The weather is cold – 6.5 degrees with a sharp 11m/s northerly wind.
What are Black Storks eating these days? They’re hunting frogs and small fish from streams and ditches nearby the nest. In past years Tony has been seen feeding along rivers of the Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, which means at least 20 kilometres from the nest. |
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The fourth egg was laid at 08:57 - is the clutch full now? It is obvious that mating is done after laying the eggs as well.
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A long-time dream of the Eagle Club team is becoming a reality! – the world can watch the life of a pair of Estonia’s nesting Black Storks, Tony and his partner, through the eye of an internet video camera. This is nothing very new in this high-tech age – web cameras elsewhere in the world are directed at birds’ nests. But most of them are at species living close to humans (where electicity and internet supply are close at hand), or where the picture quality isn’t to boast about.
We decided to try with Black Storks, and after a number of experiments we chose the nest site of our radio-tagged Black Stork Tony. The antenna and camera were placed in the forest at the end of March. |
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We realized that achieving what at first seemed a rather simple task is not so easy at all. For example, problems of running cable and energy supply needed to be solved; cables couldn’t be too long, nothing could interfere with the antenna, batteries needed to be renewed occasionally, and all of the field work and on site preparations needed to be done before the nest owners returned from their winter home.
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Testing the antenna receiver.
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Testing the camera.
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Distance work – adjusting the incoming images and transferring to operators took much longer than anticipated... and the technical adjustments are by no means over – today, for example, the antenna on the mobile mast will be replaced in order to improve the data transfer.
Urmas Sellis - Eagle Club |
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The third egg has been laid in the nest – in poor weather it is kept warm and dry, being cooled and turned from time to time. The real incubation starts when the clutch is complete, which may, in fact, be today. We’ll see in the next few days. Tony can be distinguished from his mate by the white plastic ring on his right leg.
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The Raven has been harrassing the Stork every morning between nine and ten o’clock. Both of the parent birds protect and warm the eggs earnestly.
Tony is over 5 years old. He was supplied with a radio transmitter on 6 July 2005, when he weighed slightly more than 3 kilos and his beak was 202 mm. long.
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While Tony was away from the nest, his partner spent most of the early morning laying an egg. By 10:05 the second egg appeared. Egg Stealer Raven again harrasses Tony’s mate as soon as she rises in the nest. Cawing is heard and Mother Stork clacks her beak to drive it away, and finally assails:
Tony arrived back at 10:43 and it was again time to admire the eggs. A couple of hours later Tony is alone to warm the eggs and mother goes off to have a break and get some lunch. Usually the clutch of Black Stork is 3-5 eggs.
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The whole day was spent “decorating” the home. The amount of nest material was doubled, and the first egg was packed in moss. Tony brought the materials while the female put it in place and made adjustments. In the morning while Tony was caring for the egg he was harrassed by a Raven, apparently interested in a fresh and hearty meal. Mother was off feeding.
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Tony’s mate laid her first egg. At 18:30 she proudly showed her "creation" to Tony and they admired it together till dark. Only at 20:55 did one of the birds sit down to warm it.
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Tony was seen mating for the last time.
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Batteries need to be changed at dusk. One of the storks is on the nest and is not alarmed. In fact, the site of the battery pack is not visible from the nest and a light rain distorts the sound of the steps of the weighed down battery man.
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Nest building begins intensely the morning of April 16th. Tony brings the materials and his partner puts them in place. They take an occasional break to conduct business in the name of the future generations. They mate repeatedly. When the building has proceeded well, they take time to groom each others feathers. Pygmy Owl calls from a perch nearby. The video reception during mid-day is unclear, too much disturbing contrast...
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The pair of Black Storks arrived to their nest on the evening of 15 April. It was clear that no activity had yet taken place there. The pair spends the night at the nest.
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We spotted the first Black Stork at the nest on 12 April, though no nest-building activity had started. There were no rings on the legs to identify the bird. It remains uncertain if this was a random visitor or Tony’s mate.
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