In European folklore, the stork often symbolizes the birth of a new baby, but for centuries the wild white stork in the UK has failed to have babies itself. That is, until now.
In what comes as great news for wildlife in the UK, wild white stork chicks have recently hatched in the UK for the first time in what is believed to be hundreds of years. Eggs in one of the three nests being monitored at the Knepp estate in West Sussex have hatched.
Observers watched as the parents incubated the nest of five eggs in an oak tree. They were seen removing eggshells from the nest and regurgitating food for the chicks.
It came after the same pair of white storks unsuccessfully tried to breed at Knepp last year. Lucy Groves, project officer for the White Stork Project, said it was the first time in hundreds of years that wild white stork chicks have hatched in the UK.
Co-owner of the Knepp estate Isabella Tree said: “When I hear that clattering sound now, coming from the tops of our oak trees where they’re currently nesting at Knepp, it feels like a sound from the middle ages has come back to life”.
The project to breed wild white storks in the UK is a partnership of private landowners and conservation organizations. It aims to restore a population of at least 50 breeding pairs across the south of England by 2030.
