The storks “wore”… rings in Mytilene

The ringing of the stork chicks in their nests was carried out for the second year this year, by the staff of the Museum of Natural History of the Lesvos Petrified Forest and the Center for Environmental Information (EPC) of Kalloni, in collaboration with the Greek Bird Ringing Center with the assistance of DEDDIE Kalloni.

Lesvos is the island of wetlands and the only Mediterranean island where Europe’s two species of storks nest: the White Stork and the Black Stork. And while the latter nests “secretly” in the pine forests and canyons of the island, the White Pelarg prefers the villages. Most of the nests are concentrated around the Gulf of Kalloni, in the villages of Polychnitos, Agia Paraskevi, Kalloni, Papiani and Dafia.

This year, young also grew up in a nest in Mandamados. It should be noted that during the previous winter, when the birds were away in Africa, DEDDIE took special care to place a special basket under each nest to protect the birds from electric shock and avoid accidents. So again this year, with the help of a special crane, as many nests as possible were approached (due to height) and, in addition to the rings, some special physical measurements were taken (weight, beak length, etc.). The chicks were taken to the ground for a short time on different dates when they were grown enough but not ready to leave their nest at Papiana, Kalloni, Dafia and the Agia Paraskevi junction.

“The rings placed on the storks are plastic and for Greece they are black in color with white characters that are unique to each of them. It is possible to locate and read them from a distance (telescopes or photography) and they help scientists to draw a number of important conclusions: how long storks live, which areas they migrate through and in which they spend the winter, which fledglings survive better than a nest, etc. a. In this way, better measures can be designed to protect storks and other waterfowl and the wetlands that are important for their conservation“, says the director of the Lesvos Petrified Forest Museum, Nikos Zouros.

The nests produced a total of nine chicks in four nests, while last year 12 were ringed in four nests.

According to KPN Kallonis experts, this is because this year has reserved for our storks an unusually cold March at the moment when they first arrive from Africa and the female gathers energy to lay her eggs. The storks also faced a rainless Spring that dried out the seasonal (with water only a few months of the year) wetlands in the area very quickly, limiting the food available for their young and affecting their survival until they fledge. .

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