Folklore has it that human babies are delivered by storks. These birds symbolize luck, fidelity and parental devotion.
This large and tall bird is a member of the stork family. As the name suggests, it is mostly white with black wing feathers. The latter being black with white edges on the upper side and pure black on the underside. The beak and long legs are pink to red, depending on season. The eyes are black and have a short black eyeliner when viewed from up close.
This bird mostly lives in moist grassy areas near wetlands and water bodies. It lives in flocks and feeds on fish, frogs & reptiles. It is a migrant and breeds in Europe & Central Asia and migrates to Africa during winters. A small population also winters in India.
The main natural threat to storks is attacks from predatory birds like eagles & falcons.
Human threats include the use of pesticides and insecticides. These chemicals have already caused severe declines in populations of insects and frogs, which are their food.
Wars along their migration routes in the Middle East & Ukraine have made it difficult for these birds.
There was once excitement in my city, Bangalore, about White Storks having arrived at a lake on the outskirts. These birds, not regular migrants to the region, had arrived after a gap of several years. I decided to go there & check it out. When I reached, several birders were already there. The birds were flying very high up. There were three White Storks (I can hardly call them a ‘flock’). After a while, they descended and landed in the grasses at the edge of the lake. But then, an unsuspecting villager came too close, so they took to the sky. Soon, they landed again & joined a small flock of Woolly-necked Storks. After this, the birders started approaching them.
First, one approached. The whole flock flew away & landed some distance away. Then, three birders approached.
They flew again. They landed. Six photographers approached. The birds took off. After this, the wary Woolly-necked Storks left the area & only our birds were left. This cycle repeated several times.
Disgusted, I left the area. The next day was a weekday & I visited the place in the morning hoping there would be fewer birders. But the scene was just as it was the prior day. Our birds were there & but just one Woolly-neck was left.
And worse still, an SUV charged towards them in the grass. All the birds flew away.
While in flight, I noticed that one of our birds was injured. Saddened, I left the area.
I followed the story on social media & birding websites thereafter. I also posted it on X myself and the discussion / comments that followed there were interesting. Here is the link. After a few days, only two birds were reported from that area. And after a month, sighting reports stopped altogether.
One question for everyone – Are the bird photographs more important than the birds themselves? A very experienced birding guide once said to me – “It’s high time we started making a distinction. We must differentiate between the birders and the bird photographers”. I think he was right.
What do you think? Let me know in comments.
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