This year Black Stork is in closer focus, as Estonian Fund for Nature, supported also by Estonian Nature Tours (also supporting the Young Conservationist's Award Foundation and the Fying Squirrel project), has launched a series of actions to draw attention to this rare bird's status and life conditions. While lots of volunteers are involved in practical outdoor works to clean the feeding areas of the species, mainly small forest rivers and ditches, the rest of the public audience can feel involved watching the bird via internet.
The direct stream of the webcamera is just beyond a click:
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| Black Stork / Source: et.wikipedia.org |
Recently these big, but elegant love-birds were devoted to this years' offspring.
The worst impact to the life conditions of the Black Stork is caused by the policy of clearing old growth forest in Estonia and elsewhere. As mentioned above the small shallow-watered rivulets – feeding ground of the species – have overgrown and this process is rapidly accelerating.
Volunteers are active in the second set of problems, as this is more easily achievable goal. Most evidently the lack of food and suitable feeding sites is counteracting the birds' efforts to grow up their chicks. This is particularly important for the young birds to be fit before leaving for wintering sites in Africa. So clearing works will be carried out in autumn, when the birds have finished their breeding season.
As for forestry practices and policies most of Estonian conservational NGO-s are making efforts via Estonian Council of Environmental NGO's (EKO) to make the statutory law of Estonian forestry more sustainable.
The Black Stork is a 1st category protected species in Estonia, also listed in Estonia's Red Data Book as a vulnerable species.
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