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White storks arrive somehow surprisingly. Suddenly one day you simply discover a stork on the nest; they travel silently, alone or in pairs. They nest near or in settlements, searching food in fields or meadows and they are used to people and their doings. Where else will there be big trees, roofs, chimneys and poles? Near people fewer raptors and predators run and fly around, and so it is much more secure.

 

The first nesting on power line posts was noted only in the 1970ies but today more than half of the 4000 pairs nesting in Estonia have their nests on power line structures. Of course the numbers and the competition for nesting spots have increased and this worries the power line people. Because of this artificial nest bottoms are placed out, a different question is whether the storks always accept them. White storks are very true to their nesting sites and if a nest is destroyed they generally come back and build a nest again.

 

In Estonia a white stork pair nested for the first time in the ruins of Vahtseliina castle in 1841, and storks nest there even today