Stork Chicks

The last time I wrote about the wetland storks was in early May. At that point, the adults were tending to their nests, but there weren’t any chicks yet.

It wasn’t until the 29^th of May that I saw the first chick. There it was, a little white head. You could hardly see it because the nests are large and high up, and the chicks were small, so if you were lucky you could just see the top of a little head or a black beak. Adult beaks are orange but chicks are born with black beaks that slowly change color until, after a year, they are orange.

Tending to the nest

There's a little white head below Mom
if you look closely

Two sets of little black beaks being fed

By June 10 things had developed. The chicks were bigger and you could see them more easily. At this point they were trying out their wings, but they hadn’t fledged yet.

By the 20^th of June they were a lot bigger – almost the size of an adult. It was the beak that was still black that gave them away as youngsters. I couldn’t tell if they had fledged yet, but I think not. The nearby horses don't have to learn to fly and were not concerned.

On the 24^th, the young storks didn’t seem to have changed much.

On July 4^th, there seemed to be a change. At this point you could hardly tell the difference between the fledglings and the adults, especially from the back. The park ranger told me most if not all had fledged, but I didn’t see any of the young ones flying. Even once they start to fly the parents will continue to feed them for a while until they are more capable of flying well and feeding themselves.

They all look alike from the back

What I did see was the sure sign of summer. And it’s gotten so hot that I probably won’t go back until the fall by which time the nests will be empty. But that’s OK, there will be a whole new cycle next year.

Wetlands 3. Birds

After reading my last post with photos of those beautiful horses, a friend asked me if they were wild and what happens to them when their surroundings dry up. Well heck. I hadn’t done my homework.

The horses in the park are Camargue horses. That is a breed of French horses from the Camargue area in Provence, near Arles. According to Wikipedia, the Camargue horse “is an ancient breed of horse indigenous to the Camargue area in southern France. Its origins remain relatively unknown, although it is generally considered one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world.”

This breed has large, wide hooves and can stand in watery marshes for hours. It is used in marshy areas to eat the grasses that tractors can’t reach. This helps maintain the balance of growth necessary for a healthy ecosystem.

In 1988 a few of these horses were imported from France and installed in the Aiguamolls de l’Emporda. Now they have about 20 adults, all female (males are sold off) to keep the herd from uncontrolled growth – that is, they don’t want too many horses and they don’t want mares who are old or not healthy enough to become pregnant. They live semi-wild: They are moved from one area to another as needed, and they receive veterinary supervision. Otherwise, they are left to themselves. Thank you Shellie, for asking.

As for birds, my initial spottings were of small birds hiding in trees or larger ones from way far away and me with a short lens on my camera.

Serin (Gafarro)

White Stork (Cigonya blanca)

Then there was a Black-winged Stilt (Cames llargues) who wasn't too far away and while I waited patiently, didn't mind posing a little bit.

This was encouraging.  Later, things picked up with bigger birds and a bigger lens.  I had an especially good time capturing storks taking off, landing, or flying at two different lagoons. 

Finally there was a bird even bigger than the White Stork and possibly even more beautiful (although they all are really beautiful).  I think the Flamingo (Flamenc) has been my favorite so far.

He's at the right; doesn't seem to mind sharing 
his space with the storks, or vice versa. Just as
well now when many of the lagoons are drying up.

Three hundred and twenty-nine species of birds have been spotted in the park, but not by me. I’ve spotted maybe ten and can name only seven, and I need to learn the names in both English and Catalan.  Maybe that’s why people get into birding. It’s an eternal project.