A nest of a stork. Where and how do storks nest?

These amazing birds differ from others not only with their beauty, but also with extraordinary grace. By external parameters they are similar to a heron, only larger in size.

And the nest of the stork stands out among other forms and sizes. What is it remarkable about? About where and what these birds build nests, you can find out by reading this article.

Beliefs about Stork

In Belorussia a bird is belovedly called a white bead, and in Ukraine it is a black-beak or a loop. There are no birds in the world with which so many legends are connected, they will accept beliefs, and they are all pretty nice and kind.

The very first thing that comes to mind is that the stork is a bird that brings children to families. In the old days, the windows were specially laid out for storks for the sake of the appearance of children in the house. And on the roofs we installed wheels from the carts, so that the storks arranged their habitation there.

It was believed that the nest of the stork on the roof of the house will certainly bring happiness and peace to the owners. And the number of stork also had a certain value - how many chicks, so many children are expected in the family.

In nature, both white and black storks live, the most common are the first.

Stork habitat

The White Stork is the national bird of the Republic of Lithuania. On the territory of this state, the greatest density of nesting of this species of birds is recorded. Usually the storks nest solitary, but there are also large colonial settlements.

They dwell almost in all areas of Europe, including in the Russian European part. There are also in Asia (for example, in Uzbekistan).

Arrange storks of their nests in the most different and unexpected places, even on some power lines. They are not at all afraid of people and settle on trees and roofs of houses in rural settlements.

Many villagers specially prepare places to facilitate the arrangement of nests by birds - establish poles with circles, cut off unnecessary branches on trees. Civilization and the people of storks do not scare. However, the birds still do not lose their caution towards the person.

General information about storks nests

This surprisingly beautiful and noble bird builds a very large nest (in diameter up to 1.5 meters). The weight of such a dwelling can reach 250 kg. In general, the nest builds a stork on the roof of a building built by a person, or on broken tree tops near water bodies (rivers and lakes) or swamps.

As a rule, one nest is used by storks for years. Birds always return to their old dwelling, with males arriving early and guarding it until the return of the female. But the nest before hatching is again put in order, is repaired, therefore its sizes increase every year. The height is usually 50 centimeters, and the old nest as a result of such reconstructions can reach a height of even 1.5 meters.

In Germany, the oldest nest of the stork was used by birds for 381 years.

What is the nest built from?

Storks nests are built of branches and large branches. Tray they lined with hay, old grass and straw. Sometimes as a lining at the bottom of the nest are used old rags, wool, paper, etc.

With all this, each nest is built differently. All storks have their own peculiarity in planning the construction of a cozy nest. For example, there is a difference in the construction of nests in white and black storks, as detailed below.

White storks

The most famous of all birds of this species is the white stork, nesting in the European part of the country in Russia. The places of his wintering are Africa and India.

The height of the bird is 120 centimeters, its weight is four kilograms. A distinctive feature of it is that the stork does not have a voice, but instead knocks half of the beak, issuing certain sounds that are understandable to almost all surrounding birds.

White storks are monogamous. In a renovated nest after returning from wintering, they lay 1 to 7 eggs, then they are incubated alternately (both female and male) for about 34 days.

They prefer to settle on the banks of water bodies: rivers, lakes, marshes. These birds perfectly swim, fly and are surprisingly easy to move overland (even running after prey). White stork in flight reaches a speed of up to 45 km per hour. During sleep, he stands on one leg, periodically changing it.

White Stork's Nest

The nest of white stork (the outer side) is built of wood branches, the thickness of which reaches even a few centimeters. The inner part is laid out by brushes thinner and softer, and the stems of plants, turf, earth, manure, straw and hay often come across in the walls. The lower part is lined with a rather thick layer of softer material - moss, hay, leaves, dry grass, wool, etc.

Also in the nest you can find a wide variety of garbage - old rags, films, papers, pieces of rope, etc.

In Russia, the oldest nests of white storks (about 35 years old) were found in the Tver and Kaluga regions. In western Europe (in Germany, Poland and Hungary) there are nests, whose age is more than 100 years.

Black storks

Live black storks in the mountains and in the woods. They prefer to nest in places inaccessible to people, and lay about 5 eggs each. They are also caring parents, the eggs are hatched in turn, and the female and the male.

The weight of a black stork is about three kilograms. Legs, neck and beak are long. The wingspan reaches 2 meters. During the flight, the stork beautifully stretches his legs and neck, slowly and slowly wings his wings.

Unlike the white, the black stork has a voice. Among other things, black, in comparison with white, more thoroughly relates to the design of his nest - neatly puts the bough, using clay and earth.

About chicks of storks

After the storks have made a nest, and the chicks hatch from the hatched eggs, the real fuss begins. Parents will fatten them from morning till night. They keep on trying to find water and food for their nestlings. Since the birth of the storks feed on insects.

The food that the chicks grab on the fly is thrown into their mouths from the beak of their parents. And the water flows smoothly into the beak of the nestlings. All this happens during the first two months. The chicks eat very well, and they gain weight very quickly.

There is not a very pleasant feature for storks - they get rid of sick and weakened chicks.

Strong and mature young birds begin to look for food themselves, without parents. They are fed by snakes, insects, lizards, frogs, various rodents, etc.

Interesting facts about the nests

Today in Ukraine it is more and more often possible to meet a nest of a stork on a pole of electro lines, a little less of them - on trees, and even less - on water towers. The smallest number of nests - on various buildings.

Nests of storks are also found on rocks. For example, in Portugal in 1994, they were built more than 2% of the nests. Old dwellings are also found in ruins, on monuments, towers, on straw stacks, piles of dry branches and manure. There are cases when nests are detected even on the arrows of construction cranes and on the ground.

The height of the socket depends on the height of the support. It varies from 0 (on the ground) to several tens of meters (on pipes and other structures). Known is the case of the nest on a hundred meter rig in Spain. In general, they are built at an average height of 5 to 20 m.

In many regions of Russia nests are located on water towers, especially in the Kaluga region (73% of nests).

In Lithuania in 1994-2000, storks nested on an old tree in 52 percent of cases.

Demonstration behavior of the stork

For paired and breeding birds the center of social activity is a nest on which one can see their various demonstrations. Interestingly, the fact that outside the nest partners tend to ignore each other.

Usually in the spring the male to the nest comes back first and protects the dwelling from other storks. A nest is formed on the nest. The owner meets the foreign approaching storks with a characteristic cracking of the beak, tilting his head back and dropping his wings. At the same time he still raises his tail and pushes the feathers around his neck.

If a female arrives at the nest, the demonstrations after a while acquire a different character - a welcoming ceremony takes place. In this case, the male, picking up feathers and swinging his head from side to side, welcomes the couple. When an alien tries to sit on the nest, the owner takes a threatening pose: standing on his half-bent legs motionless with the wings spread out in different directions, with his tail taut, and his head and neck extended forward. There are many different demonstrations in the stork, depending on the situation. There may be fights.

A beautiful picture (two storks in the nest) can be seen after the pair is formed. Each of the pair welcomes the partner flying up to the nest, with current demonstrations. Often both birds in the nest are touted as a "duet", they sort out feathers to each other, mostly on the neck and head.

Conclusion

The stork on the roof is the most usual picture for the countryside. Many artists and photographers capture them there.

It should be noted that not everything is so smooth in the world of storks. Often the nests are occupied by other lodgers - sparrows, wagtails and starlings, breeding their offspring in the beautiful cozy nest of the owners of the roofs and forerunners of a happy and prosperous life.