Our storks are back! (very sad update #26 + tribute pic)

[Kirsten]

Every summer, a stork couple is coming to the village where I work. The chimney with the nest on it is very close to my office, we can watch them from there, and I took photos during my lunch break.

The male arrived on March 31, the female one week later. I hope they'll have babies! :)

Here's the couple:

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch11.jpg


The female, collecting grass for the nest:

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch6.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch7.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch8.jpg



Kirsten

[Casper]

What a lovely couple! I fear that if I had such pretty birds in view of my office I would not be getting any work done.

[boomersooner]

What beautiful birds!!! But.....I don't want any storks visiting my house!:D (if you get my drift!)

[Laura's Babies]

Oh Man Kristen! Those are awesome pictures, especially that one of the bird in flight! You are GOOD!!!!

[phesina]

What beautiful birds! And what stunning pictures of them, as always from you, Kirsten. Thank you!

[Barbara]

Isn't it wonderful when they come back after thousands of km. Some years ago, some biologists in Saxony ( not too far from Kirsten if you look in US measures ;)) tracked their storks winter journey and found them in the Okavambo swamps (looks similar as the Everglades) in South Africa!. They are in this area as well and some years ago one of the couple in the next village got caught in an electricity line. His wife will never "marry" again but will come back alone. This is really sad.
Your couple however looks a lot as if they are planning a family:)

[Kirsten]

Thanks! :) Glad you're enjoying "our" storks!



Some years ago, some biologists in Saxony ( not too far from Kirsten if you look in US measures ) tracked their storks winter journey and found them in the Okavambo swamps (looks similar as the Everglades) in South Africa!.

Oh, I think I remember that! There was a documentation on tv about it, wasn't it?


They are in this area as well and some years ago one of the couple in the next village got caught in an electricity line. His wife will never "marry" again but will come back alone. This is really sad.

Sad indeed! :( Four years ago, no female came to "our" nest, and the male was alone all summer. Very sad to watch. But one year later, he found a new wife, and they raised four babies. :)



I don't want any storks visiting my house! (if you get my drift!)

LOL, I get it, yes! :D


I fear that if I had such pretty birds in view of my office I would not be getting any work done.

Same here! LOL We're watching them from our bathroom window. :)

Kirsten

[Kirsten]

Here are some new pics of "our" storks. :)

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch12.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch13.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch14.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch15.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch16.jpg


These birds are so interesting to watch! And they do not show any fear of these big vehicles. :)

Kirsten

[Barbara]

I love how they walk with the crows- fantastic pics again!

[happylabs]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. :)

[Kirsten]

Thanks! :)

No new stork pics today btw. It's raining, so I'm just spending my lunch break visiting Pet Talk instead of taking new photos. ;)

Kirsten

[Sonia59]

I thought I replied to this thread earlier, but not! Your storks are very nice :love:. I love your new pics! You are lucky to be able to see them from your working place. :)

[lvpets2002]

:eek: WoW they are Adorable.. How so neat you get to watch them.. Oh keep us updated on their family with photos ok..

[Kirsten]

Here are some more, took them yesterday: :)

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch18.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch17.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch19.jpg


It was such a beautiful day yesterday, and I really envied him for being able to fly into the blue sky. :)
(The quality is not so great, but I took the pics from a great distance, and had no time for the right settings)

Kirsten

[Whisk_Luva]

Wow amazing photos :D

Thank you for sharing 'your' storks with us :)

[Kirsten]

Wow, during my lunch break today, I had the most fascinating encounter you can imagine! Well, he still was at least 50 metres away, but I never saw him from such a short distance! Too bad that he stood in the shadows under a tree and the pics did not turn out very clearly, but here he is - Mr. Stork: :)

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch20.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch20a.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch21.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch22.jpg


Kirsten

[Laura's Babies]

EXCELLENT as usual!

[phesina]

Beautiful! What a handsome, stately bird! (And those pictures look just fine to me.)

[Alysser]

They are beautiful! I love watching birds, they are fascinating. That nest is massive :eek:

[cassiesmom]

Kirsten, these are just breathtaking. Wow! (You really should do a book!!)

[Barbara]

Hi Mr. Stork, nice to meet you. You have a wonderful face - and I can count all your lovely feathers- so Kirsten lied when she said it didn't turn out clearly ;)

[Sonia59]

Your new pics are impressive! These birds are so massive to see from a close distance :eek:

[Kirsten]

Glad you like him!! :D Met him again today: (Well, actually I think it's the female, but I'm not sure)

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch23.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch24.jpg

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch25.jpg

BTW, the babies should be hatching this week or next week. :)

Kirsten

[Nomilynn]

I love the pictures in this thread; I look for it every time I log in to see if there are more pictures! Keep 'em coming! :)

[Sonia59]

I love the pictures in this thread; I look for it every time I log in to see if there are more pictures! Keep 'em coming! :)

Same for me! I can't wait for baby pics :D

[Kirsten]

With much sadness I have to give you the lastest update: One of the storks has died, and under these circumstances, it looks like the babies are also gone. The remaining stork stopped caring for them and barely stays in the nest, so I guess there are no longer any babies to care for. :( They usually die with only one parent.

I was missing one of the adult storks for a couple of days now and already started fearing the worst. Today, a newpaper article unfortunately confirmed what I feared. One of the storks hit a car and died immediately.

I'm very very sad, sitting here at work, and I'm about to cry. Right now, I can't even look at the photos I took of them. They break my heart.

Kirsten

[Kirsten]

One last pic: :(

http://www.catmom.de/pix/storch_tot_a.jpg

Kirsten

[3Catcondo]

I'm so sorry to hear this news. What a great tribute pic! Play hard at the bridge, Mr or Mrs Stork. :love:

[Catherinedana]

I'm so sorry. ..You have a very beautiful heart and this thread makes that very apparent. They will be back again and will bring you joy. I believe they know how much you care as well, that's why you were able to get so close for those outstanding pictures. They come to you for a reason. I looked up the Stork as a totem animal an found this:

When the stork appears a birth or rebirth will soon happen. The stork is typically a bringer of new energies. Its appearance often precedes a change in the family dynamic, which may or may not be a new baby born to the family. The stork teaches the value of family and the need to protect the family unit as a whole. When the stork appears you may need to reconnect with your roots.

Sending love,
Cathy

[Laura's Babies]

Darn it! Now my eyes are LEAKING!

[Kirsten]

Thanks for your kind words! I'm still so sad and could cry all the time!

Cathy, that's really beautiful, thanks for sharing! And I really feel like I had a special connection to him. Whenever I went out with my camera, there he was and let me take photos. My co-worker, who also tried to take pics but who always missed him, used to tease me that I was obviously having a special bond with him. All this makes it even harder now. :eek:

Kirsten

[phesina]

Oh, that's so sad. I'm so sorry, Kirsten.

[Sonia59]

Oh no! It's so sad! I know what you feel, I hate when an inocent animal is hurt or killed and I am sad even if I do not know personally this animal. Don't pay attention to your collegue, she/he does not understand because she doesn't have your sensitivity and does not like much animals.

RIP beautiful stork.

[Kirsten]

I'm still very very sad. I see the empty nest when I'm at work, and its reflection is like a hole in my heart... :( The babies are also gone, I'm pretty sure. There was a bird of prey in the nest today, most likely eating the poor remains, and the female stork seems to have left the place where she lost her entire family. This is so sad! :(

Kirsten

[Kirsten]

Well, a newspaper article confirmed today that the babies did not survive. A plane flew over the nest to take look inside, and they found it empty. :(

I'm feeling so sorry for the female stork!!

Kirsten

[Genny]

AAWWW! I'm so sorry--how sad! I have been reading and keeping up w/ this just haven't replied, but I'm so sorry...he was beautiful and it does seem like ya'll had a bond...but I'm glad he didn't suffer when he got hit by the car. Hopefully the mom will find another friend.:(

[moosmom]

Kirsten,

You took some awesome pictures!! I'm sorry about the loss of the stork. Do you know what happened to the adult that's gone? That is so sad.

RIP sweet babies.

[Sonia59]

Let's hope the female will be more lucky in life, and that she will find a new partner.

[Kirsten]

Well, it's most unlikely that the mom will find a new friend for this season. This summer, she will be alone. She may be back with another one next year, we'll see.

moosmom, I don't know what happened to the body. I was wondering the same already... :(

Kirsten