Storks back in the region: a sign of climate adaptation!

The return of the storks is in full swing in the Erlauftal community. As the noen.at reports, the first storks of the season have arrived in Steinakirchen and have already started renovation work on their nest. The male stork, which has come from a breeding station in northern Italy for almost two decades, took his partner with him, and in Steinakirchen they are hoping for new offspring after three chicks saw the light of day last year.

But increased stork activity is not only evident in Austria. In Germany too, the storks are returning earlier and earlier. The first animals were spotted in Ubstadt-Weiher in February bnn.de reported. Experts have found that more and more storks are even overwintering in the region. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the birds quickly adapt to changing conditions and diversify their food supply. Instead of traditional food like frogs and toads, they are now using food waste from landfills. In Forst and Linkenheim, a constantly growing number of these birds remain on site over the winter, which shows that they can adapt to human conditions.

Spring awakening

The return of the storks was traditionally a sign that spring is approaching. According to Nabu conservationists, the storks often only returned in April in the past, whereas these days they appear earlier and earlier. This shows a marked change in their migratory behavior and availability of food sources. Silke Weber, Ubstadt-Weiher's nature conservation officer, has been observing this development for many years and mentions that the first storks are now being spotted in February. This leads to the interesting phenomenon that children today are less likely to attend the traditional symbols of spring, as birds return much earlier in mild weather than they used to.