As always, this year you followed with great interest everything that happened in the stork nests in Dumbrăvioara. Until they are repopulated and we turn on the webcams again, let’s take a look at what happened this year in the two monitored nests.

The first nest equipped with a web camera in Dumbrăvioara was occupied by its new resident on April 2 of this year. The female arrived a few days later. Based on her ring number 7720, she is 3 years old and was marked on June 6, 2019 in Aluniș. Later on, this bird was replaced by another female, without a ring. On the 1st of May we noticed the presence of the first egg, and when we were already worried that the pair would have only one chick, a second appeared, then a third and one more, and so there were four. Unfortunately, only two chicks hatched. The pair of storks created a safe home for the little ones. While the female carefully protected the young from the strong rays of the sun, the male often flew over the nest to keep intruders away. There was great concern in mid-June for one of the little storks, which appeared to have problems with one of its legs. On July 8, we, accompanied by veterinarian Borka Levente from Vets4Wild went to check up on the chicks and we could all breathe a sigh of relief, as the veterinarian declared the two little storks healthy. On August 10, both chicks left the nest, and soon after, they were followed by their parents.

The great interest in storks led us to install a second web camera on another nest in Dumbrăvioara. The first resident of this nest arrived on March 26 of this year, and a few days later her partner joined him. In April, the pair of storks laid 5 eggs, and on May 1 the first chick hatched, followed by the other four. Unfortunately a month later, the smallest chick died. The other four, on the other hand, developed without problems. Many of you have kept an eye on the little ones every day and watched their progress. We learned from you, on July 18, that the first chick, after a lot of practice, flew away. The rest of the siblings followed soon after. The pair of storks enjoyed their nest for a few more days, and on August 12 they also started the journey to Africa, leaving their nest empty.

Thank you to everyone who followed the life of the young families of storks and informed us about the developments. In the spring of 2023, we welcome storks and spectators alike!