White Stork Nests Research Articles

The economic recreational value of a white stork nesting colony: A case of ‘stork village’ in Poland

In this paper, we estimate the economic value of selected ecosystem services provided by white storks in a Polish ‘stork village’. A stork village is a common name for a village with a white stork breeding colony, often inhabited by more storks than people. Zywkowo, the best known stork village in Poland, receives approximately 2000–5000 tourists annually, many of whom come from abroad. The village has approximately 20–40 white stork nests and several amenities designed to improve its recreational attractiveness. To estimate the economic benefits provided by the stork village, we apply the Travel Cost Method (TCM). This study is the first of this type for a stork village and the first related to the value of birds in Poland. Our results represent a useful contribution to tourism management, indicating that nature has economic value and illustrating how this value can be translated into economic benefits. It also serves as a clear illustration that the degradation of nature may entail economic losses.

The White Stork as an Engineering Species and Seed Dispersal Vector when Nesting in Poland

The white stork can affect plant population and community dynamics and structure in an agricultural landscape. It is a vector transporting large numbers of seeds along with nest material, and it is an ecosystem engineer which builds nests that function as specific habitats for plants. The following questions were asked: (i) What is the structure of the seed pool in the nest material? (ii) Can nests be treated as a habitat enabling plants to complete their life cycle? (iii) What is the probability that seeds produced in the nests reach suitable habitats in the nests’ closest vicinity? Seed pools of ten whitestork nests were analysed using the seedling germination method. The average number of seedlings detected in the nest material was 9937 per one nest (870 per 10 000 g of dry weight); they belonged to 97 taxa. Majority of the species present in the nests created persistent seed banks (62.5%); 62.2% of the seedlings represented annual species. Significantly higher percentage of weeds and significantly low...

Passer hispaniolensis subpopulations in Turkey: allozyme variations and brief ecobiological notes

In this study, Spanish Sparrows were recorded in numerous locations and specimens were collected from Samsun, Çorum, and Denizli provinces in Turkey. The breeding subpopulations preferred various nesting sites, including wooded areas and White Stork nests. These sparrows were primarily observed in flocks of variable size and were rarely solitary. The largest flock recorded was found in juniper and pine woods in Denizli. We collected data on 23 allozyme loci to compare the genetic variation among the 3 Spanish Sparrow subpopulations. The low F_{ST} (0.1363) and high Nm (1.5842) values calculated from these data indicated that gene flow among the 3 subpopulations was high and that these subpopulations did not show substantial genetic isolation. The genetic distance (D) between Çorum and Denizli was particularly low (0.001), and these subpopulations showed the highest level of genetic similarity found in the study. Conversely, a high genetic distance (0.028) was found between Denizli and Samsun. The genetic structure of these subpopulations also demonstrated a low level of heterozygosity in the total population.

Symbiotic animals of an Oriental white stork nest in Toyooka, Hyogo Pref., Japan

Symbiotic animals of an Oriental white stork nest in Toyooka, Hyogo Pref., Japan

Roosting of tree sparrow (Passer montanus) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) in white stork (Ciconia ciconia) nests during winter

Presented are the results of a preliminary study on wintering and roosting sparrows in white stork nests. The study was conducted in the winters of 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 in the agricultural landscape of western Poland. Wintering sparrows occupied 71% of the white stork nests on at least 1 visit; tree sparrows occurred in 27% of the nests at least once and house sparrows occurred in 66% of the nests at least once. No relationship was found between weather conditions, date, age, or size of the white stork nests and the number of sparrows roosting in them. This may have to do with population structure, age, social hierarchy, or individual preference. This phenomenon needs further and more intensive study.

Using Corine Land Cover Habitat Database for the analysis of breeding bird habitat: case study of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) from northern Croatia

The purpose of this study was to find out whether a set of habitat characteristics, derived from the National Corine Land Cover (CLC) database of habitat types, could indicate the occurrence of white stork nests in a settlement. The analyses were performed for the settlements closer than 35 km from the Drava River (northern Croatia). Sixteen habitat characteristics were determined around 257 settlements occupied with white stork nests and 152 control sites without white stork nests within the same geographic region. We performed multivariate inspection of the data and a non-metric multidimensional preference analysis. The best variables for stork habitat selection were: distance to the nearest grassland habitat (P < 0.0001), distance to three nearest grassland habitats (P < 0.0001), altitude of the settlements above the sea level (P < 0.001), sum of distances to the three nearest agricultural mosaic habitats (P < 0.005) and standardized area proportion of forests (P < 0.05). The explanatory capacity of the model was 81.1%. We conclude that it is possible to define a small number of habitat characteristics derived from CLC database which can indicate the occurrence of white stork nests.

House sparrows benefit from the conservation of white storks

As with many farmland bird species, the house sparrow Passer domesticus is declining in Europe, mainly due to intensification of agriculture reducing nest sites and food supplies. During 2002-2005, we studied the population size and nest site characteristics of house sparrows breeding within white stork Ciconia ciconia nests in a large area of agricultural landscape within western Poland. To explain sparrow density within stork nests, we examined characteristics of white stork nests (position, age, productivity) and the farm type around the nest. House sparrow density was greatest in the longest established (and hence larger) white stork nests located on traditionally managed farms. Two recent changes appear to have adverse effects on house sparrows. The first is the intensification of farming and the second is active management of white stork nests on electric poles to reduce nest size and thus avoid both disruption to the electrical supply and electrocution of white storks. Because the white stork has such a high profile in Poland, there are numerous schemes to conserve and enhance this species. In conclusion, we clearly show that protecting one species can have valuable, although unplanned, benefits to another species of conservation interest, the house sparrow.

Uphill shifts in the distribution of the white stork Ciconia ciconia in southern Poland: the importance of nest quality

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to explain the altitudinal changes that have occurred during the 20th century to the white stork distribution in the Podhale region of the uplands of the Tatra mountains, southern Poland. We analysed both historical data from the white stork censuses and detailed yearly records from 1974 to 2003 on population size, distribution and breeding success. A white stork nest was first recorded at Podhale in 1931 and numbers increased to seven nests in 1933, all located below 650 m altitude. During the 30‐years, 1974–2003, both the maximum and upper‐quartile altitudes of nests increased significantly. In 1974 the highest nest was at an altitude of 770 m, and the maximum reached 890 m in 1999. In the same period, the breeding population increased significantly. The minimum and lower‐quartile altitudes of nests decreased significantly following initial occupation of suitable lower altitude sites before uphill expansion. We noted the positive association between nest occupancy over the study period and breeding performance. As a result, long‐occupied nests contributed most of the young produced in the population and chicks from these nests probably colonized new areas. We believe this is the first well‐documented evidence of, and mechanism for, a particular bird species to ascend to higher elevations and that the altitudinal shifts reported for butterflies, plants and whole biomes can be detected in birds as well.

Wading Bird Nesting Effort as an Index to Wetland Ecosystem Integrity

A comprehensive wading bird nesting database for the Everglades watershed in south Florida was compiled for the time period of 1903 through 2001. The limitations and applications of this database were assessed with the purpose of ultimately strengthening wading bird performance measures used as an index of ecosystem integrity for the Everglades restoration effort. The database is limited for some inferences, such as comparing between individual years, because of a lack of standardization in sampling methodology. As such, it should be used as an index of wading bird numbers rather than as an absolute population measure. However, the database is adequate to understand long-term, system-wide trends and the range of variability in nesting effort by the wading birds. Results from the analyses indicate that trends in numbers of nesting wading birds differ among species. It is estimated that the number of White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) nests have decreased by 87% and 78%, respectively, in the Everglades since the 1930s. There has also been a significant increase in the time interval between large nesting events for White Ibis and Wood Stork and a decrease in the magnitude of large nesting events for White Ibis over the past 70 years. The number of Great Egret (Ardea alba) nests has increased, the magnitude of large nesting events has increased, and the interval between large nesting events has decreased. There has also been a 61% decrease in the percentage of wading bird nests located in the southern Everglades and a 46% increase in the percentage of nests located in the central northern Everglades since the 1980s. These types of quantitative comparisons can be used to refine and strengthen the proposed wading bird performance measures used to gauge the health of the Everglades for the Everglades restoration effort. The time interval between large nesting events may be appropriate as an additional performance measure because it may capture the variable nature of wading bird numbers in response to hydrologic fluctuations in the Everglades.