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1st International White Stork Conference
4th-6th September 2014, Zielona Góra, Poland
Abstracts
Edited by Leszek JERZAK & Piotr TRYJANOWSKI
Faculty of Biological Sciences,

University of Zielona Góra, Poland
Zielona Góra, 2014

2
3
Conference Organisers
Polish Zoological Society, Ornithology Division
PTPP “proNatura”
Liga Ochrony Przyrody
ENERGA
Scientific Committee
Prof. Dr. Jose Ignacio Aquirre de Miguel (Spain)
Dr. Vitaly Grishchenko (Ukraine)
Dr. habil. Zbigniew Jakubiec (Poland)
Prof. Zhou Lizhi (China)
Dr. Ortac Onmus (Turkey)
Dr. Judy Shamoun-Baranes (The Netherlands)
Dr. Jill Shepard (Australia)
Prof. Dr. Piotr Tryjanowski (Poland)
Prof. Dr. Dieter Wallschlaeger (Germany)
Prof. Dr. Martin Wikielski (Germany)
Organising Committee
Prof. Dr. Leszek Jerzak (Poland)
Dr. Marcin Bocheński
Dr. habil. Joerg Boehner
Olaf Ciebiera
Justyna Chachulska
Karolina Chosińska
Damian Markulak
Marcin Tobółka
Gerard Wey
Under the auspices of the

Rector of the University of Zielona Góra,
Prof. Tadeusz Kuczyński
The Voiewode of Lubuskie Province, Mr. Jerzy Ostrouch
the Marshall of Lubuskie Province, Ms. Elżbieta Polak
and the Mayor of Zielona Góra, Mr. Janusz Kubicki
Sponsored by
ENERGA
Chespa Sp. z o.o., Krapkowice, Poland
Bocianybolec.pl
Liga Ochrony Przyrody, Zielona Góra, Poland
The Mayor of Zielona Góra
4
RADA WYDAWNICZA
Andrzej Pieczyński (przewodniczący),
Beata Gabryś, Anna Walicka, Rafał Ciesielski, Zdzisław Wołk,
Krzysztof Witkowski, Bohdan Halczak, Van Cao Long, Michał Drab,
Marian Adamski, Marian Nowak, Ryszard Błażyński (sekretarz)
REDAKCJA
Joerg Boehner
REDAKCJA techniczna
Jolanta Karska
PROJEKT OKŁADKI
Ewa Popiłka
© Copyright by Uniwersytet Zielonogórski

Zielona Góra 2014
OFICYNA WYDAWNICZA UNIWERSYTETU ZIELONOGÓRSKIEGO

65-246 Zielona Góra, ul. Podgórna 50, tel./faks (68) 328 78 64
www.ow.uz.zgora.pl, e-mail: sekretariat@ow.uz.zgora.pl
5
Abstracts
Sorted alphabetically by the presenting author
6
7
Alexandr ABULADZE, A. KANDAUROV, G. EDISHERASHVILI,

I. NATRADZE, A. BUKHNIKASHVILI
Institute of Zoology, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

e-mail: aleksandre.abuladze@iliauni.edu.ge
RESULTS OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA

CENSUS IN GEORGIA IN 2013-2014
The White Stork (WS) in Georgia is considered a rare migratory breeder, with limited
breeding range, the number of which is declining and rare as a passager. The WS is a
typical habitat specialist, nesting exclusively in man-made habitats. During the breeding
season the species occurs in or near rural settlements, commonly in villages and on
farms but rarely in small towns, surrounded by cultivated fields, meadows, pastures,
valleys, lakes and wetlands. At this time of year it occurs in the southern parts of
Georgia at the Lesser Caucasus. The breeding distribution range includes Javakheti
Upland, Akhalqalaqi Lowland, Tzalka depression, macro-slopes of the Abul-Samsari
and Javakhethi ridges, and occasionally Gomarethi Lowland. 127 and 129 nests were
found in 2013 and 2014, respectively, of which 99 or 77.95% (in 2013) and 104 or
80.62% (in 2014) were occupied. All known nests were located at heights between 1,250
to 2,140 m above sea level. Nests were built mostly on various pylons of electric power
lines and on buildings. Out of 110 nests occupied in 2014, 91 or 82.7 % were located
on pylons, most often on wooden poles (n=82), very rarely on concrete pillars (n = 7)
and occasionally on high-voltage metal pylons (n=2). 14 (12.7%) nests were located on
buildings, four (3.6%) in high old trees and one on a high steel pipe of large diameter.
The low number of WS nesting on trees, in contrast to other regions, is caused by heavy
afforestation of the area, with natural tree vegetation practically absent at Javakheti
Upland. About 1/6 of all known nests were located on artificial man-made platforms,
while other nests were constructed by birds. The average height of the nesting ( ground
to base of nest) was 7.4 m, ranging from 3.6 to 22.8 m. A cadastre of all known WS
nests with address, GPS data, height above ground, size etc. was created.
8
José I. AGUIRRE de Miguel
Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física Facultad

de Biología, Universidad Complutense de MadridE-28040 Madrid, Spain
email: jaguirre@ucm.es
LANDFILLS IN SPAIN AS A KEY ELEMENT

ON WESTERN EUROPEAN STORK CICONIA CICONIA
MIGRATION ROUTES
The Iberian Peninsula has represented a key stopover site for most Western European
stork populations on their way to Africa. Over the Straits of Gibraltar more than 100,000
individuals cross yearly to Africa, with the African Sahel as their final destination area.
In the last decades stopovers in Spain have increased mainly due to the presence of
landfills along the storks’ routes. The number of European individuals overwintering
in such areas has increased steadily.
Landfills represent a reliable, constant and predictable source of food. Despite several
health risks and physiological adaptations, the dynamics and phenology of arrival of
individuals is not clearly understood.
Quarterly visits to the main landfills in central Spain were performed during four
years in order to determine: i) Arrival phenology of birds from different European
origins, ii) age segregation in phenology, and iii) differential migration strategies for
birds from the same geographical origin but using landfills as stopovers or final desti-
nation of their wintering trips.
The results show that there is a clear phenology pattern for most European origins
with early arrivals of birds from central Europe (France, Belgium and Netherlands)
and later arrivals of German birds. Young storks arrive earlier than older ones although
this pattern is not clear due to the lack of information about the age of many European
storks. We found a clear differential migration strategy for birds from the same origin
that use landfills. Individuals that used landfills as stopover sites arrived earlier than
those that used them as final destination.
The increasing importance of landfills as stopovers or final wintering destination
areas makes it very important to design a complete monitoring scheme to improve
their conditions (specific supplementary feeding areas within the landfill limits) and
to clearly stablish origins, age and destination of birds feeding or wintering there.
9
Tetyana A. ATEMASOVA
V.N. Karazin Kharkov National University, Kharkov, Ukraine

e-mail: atemasov@mail.ru
White Stork CICONIA CICONIA

at the North-Eastern Ukraine:
trends in population dynamics
at the edge of range
Kharkov ornithologists have investigated the distribution, numbers and breeding biol-
ogy of the White Stork population at the edge of the species range since the 1970s.
During the time of investigation the border of the range shifted to the east, and in
1998 stork nests were registered on the right bank of the Oskol River, floodplains of
Seversky Donets, Aidar and Derkul rivers in Lugansk region (Vetrov, 1999; Atemasova,
Atemasov, 2003). A rapid increase in the number of nests was observed in the Kharkov
region from 1987 to 1996, a decline in 1997, 2005 and 2009.
For the ongoing monitoring four sample plots were selected, differing in the number
of breeding pairs of storks in previous years.
The decline of stork nests number was registered in south-western (about 60%), in
north-western (about 70%) and in the eastern part of the region (more 50%). At the
same time, nesting success was 2,3-2,6 and 3,0-3,2 nestlings per successfully breeding
pair.
Sample plots located in the center of the Kharkov region are characterized by
a stable number of stork nests, even during the overall population decrease (in 1997,
2005 and 2009). In 2012 the nesting success was 2,4 and 3,4 nestlings per successfully
breeding pair.
In recent years, the number of nests on rooftops has declined but increased on power
lines. Numbers of nests on water towers decreased also, due to the dismantling of those
towers not used anymore. The proportion of man-made nests has increased.
10
Galina BARTKEVIČIENĖ, Daiva VAITKUVIENĖ,

Mindaugas DAGYS
Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, Vilnius LT-08412, Lithuania

e-mail: galina@ekoi.lt , daiva@ekoi.lt , dagys@ekoi.lt
DOES CLIMATE INFLUENCE FIRST ARRIVAL DATES

OF WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA IN LITHUANIA?
The influence of climatic parameters on bird migration is widely recognised – birds

have been found to adjust their migration phenology under the influence of weather
conditions. This is of particular interest in relation to the global climate change. We
investigated long-term (1961-2000) first arrival dates (FAD) of White Storks to their
breeding grounds in Lithuania and their relationship with local and regional climatic
parameters. The local weather parameters were far better predictors of spring arrival
time than regional climatic phenomena – North Atlantic Oscillation or Indian Ocean
Dipole. White Storks advanced their return to the breeding grounds by almost five
days during the study period. We found that the arrival time was most strongly influ-
enced by temperature conditions along the migration route in south-eastern Europe
(Bulgaria–Romania area) as well as on breeding grounds – warmer temperatures in
these areas resulted in earlier arrival of White Storks. Interestingly, the return of White
Storks was closely associated with the thermal season of 3°C – the date when the mean
daily air temperature permanently exceeded 3°C. However, in very warm years birds
did not return to their breeding grounds as early as could have been expected from
temperature alone – mean FAD in such years was almost a week later than the onset of
the 3°C thermal season, suggesting that other factors limited further advancement of
FADs. Having examined temperature and wind conditions in Europe in early and late
years of bird arrival, we suggest that temperature rather than wind conditions during
the final stages of spring migration may have a more pronounced effect on the arrival
dates of White Storks to their breeding grounds.
11
Esther BAZANT, Ute EGGERS & Dieter WALLSCHLÄGER
Universität Potsdam, AG Ökoethologie, Maulbeerallee 2a, D-14469

Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: wallsch@uni-potsdam.de
A SECOND STUDY OF SEX RATIO IN WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA CLUTCHES: SIMILARITIES
AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POLAND AND GERMANY
In 1973, Trivers & Willard (Science 179: 90-92) published first hypotheses regarding
the manipulation of sex ratio in vertebrate offspring. In 2011, Tryjanowski et al. (J.
Ornithol. 152: 213-218) presented results from a multi-year analysis on White Storks
in Western Poland, revealing a shift towards males in the primary sex ratio, with a
ratio of 56:44 (342 nestlings from 124 clutches). The authors excluded a post-zygotic
manipulation.
Between 2003 and 2010, we sampled 917 White Stork nestlings (871 from com-
pletely determined clutches) in the federal state of Brandenburg. We could show a shift
in sex ratio over the complete sample size – but contrary to the findings from Poland,
we found a shift towards females, with a ratio of 54:46. However, one has to consider
that we here registered the secondary sex ratio (at the moment of ringing and not at
hatching). Thus, post-zygotic manipulation might have influenced this ratio, which
is particularly likely when considering that infanticide, i.e. parents throwing their
offspring out of the nest, was repeatedly observed in our study region. As we sampled
ringed birds, ring recovery information from the Hiddensee ringing centre enable
subsequent investigations regarding further sex-related aspects: First results indicated
that determining the sex of a stork by visual inspection alone exhibited a relatively
high error rate. Furthermore, so far we could not find significant differences between
the sexes in first year’s mortality and the age of first breeding attempts. Differences
between female and male storks, however, were found in settlement behaviour as well
as in higher age classes’ mortality.
12
Marcin BOCHEŃSKI
The White Stork Research Group

University of Zielona Góra, Faculty of Biological Sciences,
prof. Z. Szafrana St. 1, 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland
e-mail: m.bochenski@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
TIME BUDGET AND SOME BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS

IN THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA BREEDING
COLONY IN WESTERN POLAND
Despite the rich history of research on the white stork, the behaviour of this species and
its adaptive significance for individuals were not studied intensively so far. Investigations
on time budget and behaviour were conducted in 2003-2006 in the White Stork breed-
ing colony in the village of Kłopot (Western Poland). 30 breeding pairs were observed
a total of 1,316 hours. Among the observed pairs was a relationship between repro-
ductive success and time budget structure. The most important factor affecting the
budget is a temporary condition/quality of individuals. Greetings ceremonies with
bill clattering are part of the system for identifying individuals among pair. The results
obtained in the colony in Kłopot do not confirm previous assumptions about a direct
relationship between abundance/density of breeding pairs and intensity of aggressive
interactions between them. Interactions between individuals nesting in colonies are
of marginal importance for the course of reproduction. Non-breeding individuals are
not indifferent to breeding pairs. These birds have a negative impact on the course of
reproduction, and the interaction takes many forms. Breeding birds exhibit a differ-
ent behaviour towards stranger storks than to individuals nesting in the colony. First
of all, strangers are more often met with defensive behaviour (defensive clattering).
The presence of non-breeding birds modifies the behaviour of the nesting individuals
towards their mates and other individuals nesting in the colony. In the presence of
non-breeding birds, nesting pairs modify their time budget and activity.
13
Marcin BOCHEŃSKI1 , Krzysztof GAJDA2, Leszek JERZAK1 ,

Edyta RÓŻ2

1

e-mail: m.bochenski@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
2
Museum of White Stork (Liga Ochrony Przyrody)
Kłopot 24, 69-108 Cybinka, Poland
THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA COLONY

IN KŁOPOT (W POLAND) – OVER 45 YEARS OF STUDIES
Kłopot it is small village in the Middle Odra River Valley, next to the Polish-German
border. It`s White Stork breeding colony is the largest in Western Poland. Currently,
there are almost 40 nests and nesting platforms, more than half of which are occupied
by White Stork pairs each year. It is not known when the colony started to increase.
The only available information from the past is that after World War II only one or
two nests existed. Detailed studies on the breeding biology were started by Dr. Józef
Radkiewicz from the Pedagogical University in Zielona Góra in 1968, when 21 pairs
were breeding. He continued his studies up to the 1990s. Thereafter the colony was
monitored by Dr. Leszek Jerzak, a co-worker of Dr. Radkiewicz. New kinds of studies
started in the beginning of XXI century.
In 2003, the Liga Ochrony Przrody (NGO) opened the White Stork Museum in
the old school building of Kłopot which developed into the center for all stork studies
in the Lubuskie Province.
Also in 2003, Dr. Marcin Bocheński started detailed studies on White Stork behav-
iour and time budget during the breeding season. One year later, Dr. Mariusz Kasprzak
and Dr. Piotr Kamiński initiated some investigations on physiology and biochemistry
of White Stork chicks which still continue. So far, the research conducted in Kłopot
resulted in dozens of scientific papers, including articles, book chapters as well as
a PhD dissertation. The Kłopot colony is well known amongst White Stork enthusiasts
from all over Europe.
14
M. Cruz CAMACHO, Jose Manuel HERNÁNDEZ,

Marta BARRAL, Cristina RUIZ, Ursula HÖFLE
SaBio working group National Institute on game research

Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos
IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Spain
e-mail: ursula.hofle@uclm.es
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PATHOGEN CARRIAGE

OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA FLEDGLINGS
IN THE FIELD AND AFTER ADMISSION
TO REHABILITATION CENTERS
Recent studies by our group have shown that the habitat used by adult storks to forage
and the habitat of the colony have an influence on body condition and at least bacterial
pathogen carriage in white stork nestlings.
Ring recoveries and satellite transmitter data of juvenile Spanish white storks have
shown that regardless of the colony of origin, most juvenile white storks will use land-
fill sites as food source. Thus we hypothesize that this exposure changes the physical
condition and pathogen carriage in these juvenile white storks and that samples taken
from injured juvenile storks upon admission to rehabilitation centers will reflect the
exposure to these food items.
We tested prevalence of avian influenza virus (AIV), West Nile virus (WNV) and
Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Salmonella and Escherichia coli carrying antimicrobial
resistance mechanisms, and for antibodies against AIV, WNV and NDV in 90 (9 adults
and 81 nestlings) free-living individuals from four different colonies with a gradient
of exposure to human residues from none to 100%, and in 30 juvenile storks admitted
to two different rehabilitation centres in the study area.
By PCR we did not detect WNV, AIV or ND in any of the storks. Antibodies against
AIV were only detected in one individual admitted to a rehabilitation centre, while
antibodies against WNV were only present in adult white storks that undertook a full
wintering migration as shown by satellite transmitter data in the following winter.
Prevalence of Salmonella and NDV antibodies and phenotypic pattern of antimicrobial
resistance of commensal E .coli in rehabilitation centre admitted individuals was sig-
nificantly more similar to the prevalence in free-living individuals exposed to human
residues. Thus information from juvenile white storks admitted to rehabilitation centres
reflects the condition of juvenile white storks that use landfill sites as food source.
15
Mindaugas DAGYS1 , Daiva VAITKUVIENĖ2,

Viktor SKORNIAKOV3
1
e-mail: dagys@ekoi.lt
2
3
Vilnius University, Naugarduko g. 24, Vilnius LT-03225, Lithuania
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION

OF BREEDING WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA
IN LITHUANIA
Lithuania holds one of the highest breeding densities of White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
in the species’ range. Furthermore, the Lithuanian breeding population has doubled
during the last two decades, as revealed by a country-wide nest inventory, implemented
in 2009-2010. Data of this inventory, which included more than 20,000 registered White
Stork nests, were analyzed in order to identify the main factors affecting the distribu-
tion of White Stork nests across the country. A grid with cells measuring 2×2 km
was used for the analysis. Out of the total of 15,866 grid cells analyzed, 8,788 (55.4%)
contained White Stork nests. A number of GIS-derived variables, computed for each
grid cell, were tested as potential predictors of White Stork distribution: areas of dif-
ferent land-cover classes (derived from CORINE Land Cover database), diversity of
land cover, density of roads and of hydrological network, NDVI. The analysis revealed
that landscape structure and particularly features of agricultural landscape, related to
farming intensity and diversity, were the best predictors of White Stork occurrence
across the country. White Storks clearly favored less intensive farming and more diverse
landscape. Results of this study provide insight into optimal structure of agricultural
landscape for White Storks in Lithuania and may be useful in predicting the impact of
farming-related changes on White Stork population in the future.
16
Miroslav FULÍN1 , Ján GÚGH2
Eastern Slovakian Museum in Košice, Kośice, Slovakia

1
e-mail: miro.fulin@gmail.com
2
Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia, Mlynské nivy 41,
821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia
e-mail: gugh@vtaky.sk
THE POPULATION STATUS AND THE NESTING

SITUATION OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
IN SLOVAKIA
We have been mapping the nesting of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia L.) throughout
Slovakia every year since 1994. For the mapping we cooperate with local and regional
voluntary reporters. Since 2003 we have been using the internet atlas of the nests at the
web page of the Slovak Ornithological Society / BirdLife Slovakia, where more than
300 contributors annually provide the information on the arrival of the storks and the
nesting results.
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
HPa HPm JZG
Fig. 1. Number of nests and the number of fledglings from 1994 to 2013
Since 2005 annually 1,100 to 1,350 nests have been occupied. According to the
climatic conditions at the time of nesting in a given year, 630-930 breeding pairs suc-
cessfully reared young. The number of fledglings also depended on the climatic and
nourishment conditions in a given year. A maximum number of 2,986 nestlings fledged
in 2008 and a minimum of 1,296 was in 2010.
Besides the breeding pairs, we annually registered the presence of 350 to 550 sub-
adult individuals during breeding time in Slovakia.
3,5
2,5
1,5
0,5
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
JZa JZm
Fig. 2. Average number of fledglings from 1994 to 2013
Over the last decade there has been a significant change in the location of nests.
In cooperation with energy producing companies the nests were relocated annually
from electric pylons onto separate columns with platforms. Since 1994 the number of
nests on electricity pylons has decreased from 30% to 16% of the total number of the
nests. On the contrary, the number of the nests on separate columns with platforms
has increased from 34% to 71%.
18
Nathalie GILBERT1 , J. P. SILVA3, C. PACHECO, R. CORREIA1 ,

I. CATRY3, P. ATKINSON2, J. GILL1 & A. FRANCO1
University of East Anglia, UK:

1
British Trust for Ornithology

2
3
Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Prof. Baeta Neves, Portugal,
e-mail n.gilbert@uea.ac.uk
ARE WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA ADDICTED

TO ‘JUNK FOOD’? SEASONAL LANDFILL USE
BY THE WHITE STORK IN IBERIA AND POSSIBLE
IMPACTS OF IMMINENT LANDFILL CLOSURES
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) was a wholly migratory species in Europe. Since the
1980s, guaranteed and year-round food at landfill sites has enabled the establishment
of resident populations in Iberia. Currently there are more than 10,000 wintering
individuals in Portugal alone. 90% of all wintering storks concentrate on landfills and
preferentially nest close by. Landfills also influence migratory decisions and has facili-
tated colonization of new areas. However, due to EU directives, open-air landfills are
being replaced by facilities inaccessible to birds, likely causing important consequences
for White Stork winter habitat selection, breeding and migratory decisions.
Our project uses newly developed, high precision GPS/GSM data loggers and
colony-scale productivity data to i) understand the link between winter (November-
March) and breeding (March-June) habitat selection to estimate reliance on landfill
versus non-landfill habitats, ii) to assess the consequences for productivity, and iii) to
speculate on the possible impacts of landfill closure for the distribution of the resident
Iberian White Stork population distribution as well as future migratory strategies.
A total of 47 resident adult storks were caught on landfill sites in Portugal in winter
2012 and 2013 and fitted with GPS/GSM loggers programmed to transmit 5 high-
precision (3 m) GPS locations per day, which were used to record habitat selection
and migratory behavior.
The high precision and frequency of GPS fixes has allowed an unprecedented ob-
servation of White Stork behaviour and habitat selection. Results from 30 storks has
highlighted heavy dependency on landfills during winter and, in the case of 90% of
19
individuals, throughout the latter part of breeding. Storks near landfills have smaller
foraging areas in non-landfill habitats in both seasons. Colonies close to a landfill
experience, on average, 30% fewer nest failures and raise 0.5-1.0 more chicks per
successful nest than colonies further away. Storks generally arrive at a landfill after
mid-morning and visit landfills with a below average frequency on Sundays when no
rubbish is delivered.
20
Çağrı GÖCEK1 , Can C. BILGIN2
WWF- Turkey, İstanbul, Turkey

2
Middle East Technical University, Department of Biology, Ankara,
Turkey Corresponding Author: Çağrı Göcek
e-mail: cagri.gocek@gmail.com
BREEDING SUCCESS AND NESTLING SURVIVAL

OF WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA
IN CENTRAL ANATOLIA – TURKEY
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia, Linnaeus, 1758) is a summer visitor and passage
migrant in Turkey. Although widespread in summer near wetlands of Turkey, except
for the eastern parts of the Black Sea Region, no investigation which involves regular
monitoring of a colony throughout four consecutive years has been published. In this
study, breeding success and survival of nestlings in a population in Kızılcahamam-
Ankara-Turkey were investigated. Regular field observations throughout six-month
long breeding seasons between 2003 and 2006 were carried out. The breeding success
was analysed in relation to seasonal climatic differences and to nest locations.
Clutch size and the number of hatchlings and fledgling fluctuated between the years
2003 to 2006 for breeding pairs while fledging success (average fledgling per successful
nests with egg laid) were 2.6 in 2003, 3.8 in 2004, 1.9 in 2005 and 3.1 in 2006. These
values correspond well to those recorded in northern Europe. The relationship between
date of start of incubation and both clutch size and brood size differed between 2004
and 2005. Such a relationship may be significant in unusually cold breeding seasons.
In conclusion, the Kızılcahamam White Stork population is not limited by food
or nest site availability, and has a reproductive output above the European average,
although affected by annual climatic stochasticity. Although long term studies have
been conducted on White Stork populations for decades, the Turkish population has
potential to add new insights into the Western Palearctic population as a result of
bio-climatic variables.
21
Jan GÚGH, Ferenc PAPP1
Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia, Mlynské nivy 41,

821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia
e-mail: gugh@vtaky.sk
1
Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society
MME/BirdLife Hungary, Költő u. 21, 1536 Budapest, Pf. 283, Hungary
e-mail: papp.ferenc@mme.hu
WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA TELEMETRY

IN SLOVAK-HUNGARIAN BORDER AREA
From 2012 to 2014, we tagged 24 White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) to track migration
routes, survival of juveniles, threatening factors and land use. An important aspect
of telemetry tracking is also the popularization of stork protection due the attractive
topic of the flyways in media. We focused mainly on the tracking of young birds, and
only partly on adults. Some young birds were marked as nestlings, some of which were
brought to rehabilitation stations without injury after fledging and landing unsuc-
cessfully on the ground where they were subsequently captured. The present abstract
considers the results of migration studies on young birds from August 2012 to June
2014. This investigation continues and during the 2014 breeding season more White
Storks will be marked. We use GSM/GPS loggers with a weight of 29 grams for track-
ing. In total, 24 storks were marked, 16 in Hungary and 8 in Slovakia.
Out of the 24 individuals seven (29%) have successfully overcome the first migration
to Africa on pre-wintering sites. Another individual was captured during the warm
winter of 2014 in January in Hungary, where it spent the winter successfully. During the
first migration 16 individuals (67%) died before arriving at the African wintering sites:
eleven in Europe (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria; = 46%
from all tracked storks) and five during migration through the Middle East (Turkey,
Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt; = 21%). Out of the seven storks which arrived at Africa, five
(71%) survived the first winter. One individual died at the end of the wintering prob-
ably due predation in Zimbabwe and another disappeared at the end of the wintering
in Ethiopia (it is also possible that its transmitter broke down). From five individual
22
surviving the first wintering, one died for unknown reasons after its arrival to Turkey
and one disappeared after summering in Turkey (perhaps the transmitter failed).
Pre-wintering areas of the tracked storks that had migrated to Africa were located
in Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia. Out of seven storks four made longer winter movements
and spent the second phase of wintering in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. One
Stork spent its first winter in South Turkey after crossing the Aegean Sea, which means
250 km non-stop flight. This individual spent its second winter as proper in Africa.
We also tried to identify the reason of the storks’ death, which was possible in 16
out of 20 cases. Out of these 16 cases 11 (69%) were caused directly or indirectly by
human activity. The most common reason was a collision with electric wires – five
storks (three collisions, two electric shocks: = 31%), shooting and poaching – three
storks (19%), killed by a tractor on the fields – two storks (13%), and an unusal case of
a drowned stork that was carried away by the effluent at a hydroelectric power plant at
night. In five cases we recorded natural mortality, of which three storks were predated
(White-tailed Eagle, Golden Jackal) and two individuals were in bad condition. In the
next four cases it wasn´t possible to determinate the reason for the death, and in three
cases it is also possible that the loggers broke down.
Despite the fact that most of the tracked White Storks came from rehabilitation
stations (67%), the monitoring results of the juveniles and their survival correspond to
other published data. Out of the 24 tracked young White Storks five lived for one year,
representing 21% of the monitored group. The high mortality rate of young birds is
caused by inexperience and human activity directly (shooting, poaching) and indirectly
(especially power lines, collisions, etc.).
Telemetry tracking of the Storkswass realised in the frame of the project „Birds with-
out borders” HUSK/1101/2.2.1/0336, which is supported by the European Union from
European Regional Development Fund in Hungarian-Slovak Cross-border Cooperation
Programme.
23
Jose Manuel HERNÁNDEZ, Ursula HÖFLE

Instituto de Investigaciónen Recursos Cinegéticos IREC
(UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Spain
USE OF SOUTH-CENTRAL SPANISH LANDFILL SITES

BY CENTRAL EUROPEAN WHITE STORKS CICONIA
CICONIA BASED UPON REGULAR RING LECTURES:
MIGRATION, WINTERING AND JUVENILE DISPERSAL
White Storks from western European populations have adapted to the use of landfill sites
as food source. In the Southwest this has led to thriving populations and an apparent
modification of migratory behaviour. Especially Spanish landfill sites have also become
important stopover and even wintering sites for storks on the western European flyway.
To study the use of landfill sites by central European storks we registered ringed storks
at two landfill sites in south-central Spain (Ciudad Real) in ten day intervals during 24
consecutive months (2012-2014).
During this period 9,000 rings belonging to approximately 2,400 storks were read.
Storks with rings from northern or central European countries were present at the
landfill sites throughout the whole year but were especially numerous in winter. The
rings identified were from Spanish, German (57%), French (21%), Swiss (12%) and
some from Dutch, Swedish, Czech, Belgian but also Italian and Polish storks.
From our results we can determine three groups of storks concerning their migra-
tory behaviour: Some local storks have become residents and do not undertake any
migratory movements. The second and probably largest group has significantly reduced
the distance and duration of migration, now wintering at Spanish landfill sites. Finally
some storks still use the traditional migratory routes and are present at the Spanish
landfills only during their southward or northward journey. Central European storks
that have been observed at the landfill sites throughout the breeding period are probably
juveniles, this, however, can only be confirmed when full data on the rings becomes
available. Our preliminary data show thus evidence for a change in migratory behaviour
in a large part of the Western stork populations. As the management of landfill sites
in Spain will change progressively in the near future this is expected to again have a
significant effect on migratory behaviour of these storks.
24
Ursula HÖFLE, Yolanda RAMIRO-RUBIO, Jose Manuel HERNÁNDEZ,

Sandra DIAZ, Ana Valeria GUTIERREZ-GUZMAN

Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC
(UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Spain
WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA AND RUBBISH DUMPS,

THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY: FOOD,
POLLUTANTS, AND PATHOGENS
The White Stork in its western European population is a colonial species that has in-
creased its population in Spain considerably due to the availability of rubbish dumps
as a continuous reliable food source. We studied four colonies of white storks, situ-
ated at (1) a functioning rubbish dump, (2) a closed rubbish dump, (3) a sheep farm,
and (4) in a National Park. Faecal samples of 70 storks were collected at the nest, and
body condition, blood samples and cloacal swabs were obtained from 103 nestlings
at ringing. Nestlings from colonies at rubbish dumps had a significantly better body
condition than nestlings from more natural colonies. In contrast methaemoglobulin
concentration in the blood of nestlings from natural colonies was significantly lower
in natural populations, indicating exposure to substances causing oxidative stress at
rubbish dumps. Further analysis revealed an apparent upregulation of oxidative stress
response mechanisms in White Stork nestlings exposed to human residues. Escherichia
coli isolated from White Storks from rubbish dump colonies had a higher prevalence
of virulence genes common to avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC). Resistance to the
antimicrobials enrofloxacin, gentamicin and cefotaxim was significantly higher in
the functioning rubbish dump (91.7, 81.3 and 87.1%, respectively) than in the other
colonies, and 70% of the isolates showed resistance against all three antimicrobials,
while multiresistance to antimicrobials was absent in E. coli isolates from storks from
the National Park. The data show an apparent physiological adaptation of the White
Storks to the exploitation of landfill sites for foraging. Also, the results highlight the
risk of exposure of White Storks to bacterial strains carrying resistance genes, when
exposed to human residues.
25
Piotr INDYKIEWICZ

Department of Zoology, University of Technology and Life Sciences,
Ks. A. Kordeckiego 20, 85-225 Bydgoszcz, Poland
e-mail: passer@utp.edu.pl
THE INFLUENCE OF WHITE STORKS’

CICONIA CICONIA NESTS ON BREEDING SUCCESS
OF THE HOUSE SPARROW PASSER DOMESTICUS
AND TREE SPARROW P. MONTANUS
The study was conducted in several villages in the northern part of Poland (within the
Kujawsko-Pomorskie province). In three consecutive breeding seasons (2009-2011)
House Sparrows Passer domesticus and Tree Sparrows’ P. montanus nests located in
alcoves and niches of walls, under the roofs of residential buildings and farms, as well
as within the nests of White Storks Ciconia ciconia were inspected.
In the analysis of the influence of the white storks’ nests on the breeding success
of both species of sparrows the following factors characterising the storks’ nests was
considered: size, duration of use by storks, and location (primarily the distance from the
farm). Moreover, data were collected on sparrows’ nests: location and position (both in
buildings and within storks’ nests), as well as the type and amount of nest material.
In addition, the birds’ egg laying periods were recorded. The breeding success
of House and Tree Sparrows was measured by the number of nestlings (aged 12-15
days).
26
Hanna JACKOWIAK1 , Z. KWIECIŃSKI3, K. SKIERESZ-SZEWCZYK1 ,

E. PROZOROWSKA1 , S. GODYNICKI1 , P. ĆWIERTNIA3,
P. TRYJANOWSKI2

1
Department of Histology and Embryology, Institute of Zoology,
Poznań University of Life Sciences,Poznań, Poland
2
Departement of Zoology, Institute of Zoology, Poznan
University of Life Sciences,Poznań, Poland
3
Zoological Garden, Browarna 25, 61–063 Poznań, Poland
e-mail: z.kwiecinski@zoo.poznan.pl
ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY OF THE STOMACH

OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
Most investigations about the avian stomach were conducted in farm birds, but there
is a lack of respective descriptions for free living species. The avian stomach has two
chambers, i.e. a glandular stomach, or proventriculus, and a muscular stomach, or
gizzard.
We conducted anatomical and histological studies on ten stomachs of the White
Stork. Samples of both stomach chambers were fixed in 10% neutral formalin and
prepared routinely for macroscopical inspection and for light microscopy.
The glandular part of the stomach is ca. 6 cm long, and in its 1.0-1.2 cm thick wall
the mucosa, submucosa and tunica muscularis can be distinguished. Superficial mucosal
and gastric propor glands in the submucosa were observed. The tunica muscularis has
an inner circular and an outer perpendicular muscle layer. The gizzard has a diameter
of 7-8 cm and is round. The characteristic feature of this chamber is a thinner wall. The
surface of the mucosa is covered by hard cuticle, produced by short tubuli of mucous
glands. The stomach in White Stork resembles that of farm animals.
27
Hanna JACKOWIAK1 , Kinga SKIERESZ-SZEWCZYK1 ,

Zbigniew KWIECIŃSKI2, Szymon GODYNICKI1 ,
Katarzyna JACKOWIAK1 , Andrzej LESZCZYSZYN1

1
Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznań University of Life
Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71 C, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
2
Zoological Garden Poznań, Browarna 25, 61-063 Poznań, Poland
e-mail: z.kwiecinski@zoo.poznan.pl
LM AND SEM STUDIES ON THE REDUCTION

OF THE TONGUE MICROSTRUCTURES IN THE WHITE
STORK CICONIA CICONIA
The structure of the tongue in the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) was inspected macro-
scopically and by light and scanning electron microscopy. Our observations revealed
a rare terminal reduction of the size of the tongue and microstructures of the mucosa
in comparison with respective investigations published so far for birds. The short
triangular tongue with a pointed tip is approximately 2.5 cm long and located in the
caudal part of the oral cavity close to the laryngeal prominence. On the dorsal surface
of the tongue no typical mucosa microstructures like lingual papillae, median groove
or lingual prominence were found. The main structure of the tongue is formed by the
rostral part of the hyoid apparatus, i.e. the entoglossal cartilage connected with the
basihyiod. The very thin mucosa is composed of fibrous connective tissue covered with
ortokeratinized epithelium. No lingual glands and muscles were found in the lamina
propria of the mucosa. Even though the triangular shape of the tongue in the White
Stork is typical for birds, this reduced organ is in fact a flat cartilagineous entoglossum
of the hyoid apparatus.
The feeding behaviour of the White Stork undoubtedly affected food transportation
in the oral cavity, called cranio-inertial transport, what resulted in structural reduction
of the tongue.
28
Zbigniew JAKUBIEC1 , Uwe PETERSON2

1
prof. Z. Szafrana St. 1,65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland
e-mail: z.jakubiec@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
2
e-mail: nosretepewu@aol.com
LONG-TERM STUDIES OF POPULATION DYNAMICS

OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA IN THE REGION
OF ITS HIGHEST DENSITY
The status of the White Storks population in the Kętrzyn region was investigated since
1974 in five years intervals. This area has the highest density of this species of the entire
eastern part of the population. From 1974 to 2004 the population has grown from 444
to 598 pairs (increase of about 35%). A last control in 2010 revealed a 25% decrease
down to 449 pairs. The most noticeable decrease of almost 50 % was found for the
stork colonies in the northern part of the region. This result was especially remarkable
because of a breeding effect similar to 2004. Studies in 2014 revealed a further decline,
estimated more than 15%. There is an increased pressure on the White Stork now by
the White-tailed Eagle of which predation on adult storks as well as on nestlings has
been recorded in seven localities.
29
Mara JANAUS
Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, Latvia

e-mail: ornlab@latnet.lv
MONITORING OF BREEDING SUCCESS OF THE WHITE

STORK CICONIA CICONIA IN LATVIA 1989-2013
The monitoring of breeding success of the White Stork in Latvia started in 1989 on six
study plots with a total of 131 nests. In the last years there are about 20 study plots with
38 nests, on average. Data are sampled by volunteers, and study plots are distributed all
over Latvia, with plot area varying from 70 to 190 km2. In total, data from about 441
study plots with 15,639 nests have been sampled during 25 years.
On average, 17% (range 7-28%) of all nests were unoccupied during the 25 years
study period. Of all occupied nests an average of 89% (73-95%) was successful. The
mean number of raised chicks in all occupied nests was 2.1 (1.5-2.4) and in successful
nests 2.4 (2.0-2.7). The most successful years for the White Stork in Latvia were 1994,
2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the least successful 1992, 1993 and 1997.
Notable changes were observed in nest location and nest base. At the beginning of
the observations nests of the White Stork in Latvia were located on poles (about 30%),
buildings (14%), water towers (9%) and trees (47%. Now the percentage of nests on
poles (mainly electric ones) has increased to 72%, but on trees decreased to 11%. On
buildings and water towers 11% and 5% of nests, respectively, are built today. The help of
humans for constructing nests (i.e. providing an artificial base) has decreased to about
40% in 1989-1994, and only 20% in 2011-2013. During the first years of investigation
most nests (about 40%) with human help were constructed on trees, while in the last
years most nests without human help are placed on poles (65%). As nests on electric
poles cause problems with electricity supply, part of them (about 700 annually, 95%
after breeding season) used to be removed but were usually renewed by storks in the
next season.
30
Leszek JERZAK1 , Martin WIKIELSKI2

1
Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra,
e-mail: l.jerzak@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
2
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell,
Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Germany
MIDDLE ODER RIVER VALLEY WHITE STORKS

CICONIA CICONIA TRACKED BY A SATELLITE
In 2013 year we tagged 4 White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) to track migration routes,
survival of juveniles, threatening factors and land use of the birds from West Poland.
An important additional benefit of telemetry tracking is the publicity of stork protec-
tion. Four fledgling white storks from the 3 nests located in Middle Oder River Valley
(villages Krężoły (2 young), Włostów (1 young) and Wicina (1 young)) were equipped
with GPS satellite transmitters (16th July 2013). Results to date of the four birds are as
follows;
1. Began migration on 13th August from Włostów, 18th August – Marmara Sea, 26th
August - Sinai, 7th Nov. – equator, 19th Nov. - South Africa, 28th Nov. – no further
information since this date.
2. Began migration on 22nd Aug. from Wicina, 10th Sept. – Turkish border, 7th Nov.
– Tukey, Kesan, rice fields – no information since this date. Probably dead – some
feathers found at last location.
3. Began migration on 20th Aug. from Krężoły, 27th Aug. - Bosphorus, 3th Sep – Gulf
of Suez, 7th Sept. – border of Chad, 27th March 2014 – began return migration, 9th
April – Gulf of Suez, 11th May – near Damascus, 20th May – northern Turkey (Sogut)
to date.
4. Began migration on 21st Aug. from Krężoły (the same nest as 3 above), 28th Aug.
– Bosphorus, 3th Sept. – Sinai, 11th Nov. – Ethiopia, 9th Jan. 2014 – Zimbabwe, 7th
April 2014 – began return migration, 28th April – Gulf of Suez, 30th May – Turkish
border, central Turkey to date.
Telemetry tracking of the Storks is supported by the Max Planck Institute for
Ornithology.
31
Ireneusz KAŁUGA1 , Zbigniew JAKUBIEC2

1
Grupa EkoLogiczna, ul. B. Chrobrego 15/83, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
e-mail: irekkaluga@wp.pl
2
e-mail: z.jakubiec@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
PROTECTION OF THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA – WORKSHOP
The White Stork is exposed to a whole range of risks posed by man and his activities.
These include m.in .: drainage, conversion of grassland to farmland, crops in monocul-
tures and the associated intensification of agriculture, changing roof material, various
types of power lines where storks are killed by electric shock, or hunting on migration.
Across the country various activities related to the protection of storks are car-
ried out. An element of protection of foraging areas is their redemption and ap-
propriate management conducive to the storks. At the most valuable feeding
grounds support hay making and grazing by helping farmers to increase stock
density, the release of the quartered grazing or mowing the respective surfaces.
In addition, to keep certain feeding areas open, woody vegetation is removed.
To protect nests, trees with nests, which are in short supply for storks, are not be cut. Free-
standing poles with nest platforms are erected next to buildings undergoing demolition,
on which stork nests are located. Platforms are also installed on buildings. This work com-
plements the treatments consisting of strings of constructing nests and ringing nestlings.
In order to reduce the risk of an electric shock to storks, for many years plat-
forms are constructed by power engineers on electric poles, where storks can
then build their nests. Quite often in the vicinity of nests power lines are insu-
lated, eliminating the risk o electric shock. Also transformer stations and accom-
panying columns of disconnectors are upgraded. The latter solution is becom-
ing the standard now and is introduced to the energy directories for the country.
Storks are also protected on migration. In 2014, in collaboration with the Ministry of
Environment of Lebanon, the Polish Embassy in Bajrucie and several NGOs of the
country succeeded in passing the decree establishing the Environmental Guard whose
task is, among others, prosecution of persons hunting migratory birds.
32
Piotr KAMIŃSKI, Leszek JERZAK, Mariusz KASPRZAK,

Marcin BOCHEŃSKI

Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Poland,
e-mail: piotr.kaminski@cm.umk.pl
ECO-PHYSIOLOGICAL AND IMMUNO-GENETIC

DETERMINATIONS OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
CONDITION – IS IT POSSIBLE TO PREVENT CHANGES
OF POPULATION STATUS?
The aim of our studies is to determine the influence of environmental stressors on eco-
physiological response of growing White Storks Ciconia ciconia (WS). We examine the
impact of the toxic heavy metals Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr, Ni, trace elements Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn,
Co, Se, Al, and destabilization of the macroelements Ca, Mg, Fe, S, Na, K, P on the
condition of WS. We determine eco-physiological responses of WS on oxidative stress
induced by the impact of environmental pollution on the efficiency of enzymatic anti-
oxidant mechanisms, total antioxidant capacity (non-enzymatic mechanisms), stress
proteins, and lipoperoxidation. We also analyze the intensity of impact of environmental
pollution upon the cytogenetic and molecular picture of WS (polymorphism of envi-
ronmental genes GSTM1 and GSTT1). We answer whether concentration of chemical
elements and sought cytogenetic biomarkers (chromosomal aberrations) depend on
the polymorphism of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes and of GSTM1/GSTT1 system and we
are also looking for the genetic basis of condition of immune processes.
Study areas: 1) The Odra meadows, S-W Poland, as an example of a weakly con-
taminated environment (control);; 2) suburban areas 20 km away from Zielona Góra
(100.000 inhabitants); 3) contaminated sites around a copper smelter near Głogów;
4) coastal areas (Baltic-marshes, N-Poland) as an example of a weakly polluted
environment.
A total of 1,055 nestlings 5-64 days of age were investigated in the breeding seasons
of 2004-2013. Blood samples were collected from the wing vein. Concentrations of Na,
K, P, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Se, Al, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Be, V, and Hg were determined
33
by ICP-MS method. Antioxidant enzymes activity (SOD, CAT, GPx, GR), glutathione
GSH content, stress proteins (CP, HPT, FRT), and lipoperoxidation (malondialdehyde
MDA) were determined using Cayman Co. kits. Cytogenetic preparations were stained
with routine Giemsa staining reagent (structural chromosome aberration assay) and
GTG banding technique. We found interactions between the concentration of toxic
metals Pb, Cd, Hg, Ni, Cr, physiological elements Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Na, K, P, and the
activity of SOD, CAT, CP, GR, GPx, and MDA content. Antioxidant enzymes activity
and lipoperoxidation is determined by the interaction with the physiological elements
Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Na, K, P. The toxic heavy metals Pb, Cd, Hg, Ni, Cr. WS from
different backgrounds differ in chemical elements level (except of Ca) and antioxidant
enzymes activity. The level of physiological elements and toxic metals is higher in WS
from polluted areas and suburbs, as compared to those from the control site. We found
differences (α=0.05, p=0.0211) between the environment and normal allel of GSTT1
gene: WS from controls are much more likely of having proper (normal) allel of GSTT1
gene. We found a modifying effect of GSTT1 gene, as we could demonstrate elevated
levels of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn in WS with a deletion in GSTT1 gene, compared to the
wild form of GSTT1 gene. We also found a modifying impact of GSTM1/GSTT1 genes
because we could show elevated levels of Na, K, Ca, and Mg in WS with a deletion in
GSTM1/GSTT1 genes, compared to wild form.
Conclusions: 1) the environment plays an important role in shaping the management
of chemical elements in the blood of WS and their physiological responses. Genetic
polymorphism of GST enzymes may affect individual differences in the concentration
of physiological elements; 2) an increasing ontogenetic risk of a decrease or loss of
condition dependends on the environment and polymorphism of genes involved in
the processes of their biotransformation; 3) genetic determinations and processes at
the molecular level play an essential role in the formation of shaping eco-physiological
responses determining the condition of WS according to environmental stress.
34
Wojciech KANIA

Ornithological Station, Institute of Zoology,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Nadwiślańska 108, PL 80-680,
Gdańsk and White Stork Study Group, Poland
e-mail: wkania@stornit.gda.pl
WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA RINGING IN POLAND.

INFLUENCE OF THE RINGING ROUTINE ON THE RINGING
RESULTS. AND PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE
55,000 White Storks were ringed in Poland between 1931 (the year of establishment of
the Polish Ringing Scheme) and 2013 (99% – nestlings) by more than 800 ringers. The
annual total number of ringed storks varied a lot, from less than 100 in some years to
about 2,500 in 1937-1938, immediately before World War II and again in 2011-2012.
Also the numbers of White Stork ringers differed in particular years, with 200 or more
in 1937-1938, about ten in the 1960s and 40-50 in recent years. In many years most
storks were ringed by as few as 1one to three persons, and since 1999 mainly by nine
ringers or teams of two to three persons. Altogether reports on 3,000 ring recoveries or
sightings of 2,000 individuals were received, from less than five to 50 (nearly all indi-
viduals found dead) in 1933-1994 to 250-400 (mainly re-sighted) in the last three years.
The dependence of the ringing results on space and time variation of the ringers’ ac-
tivity and on the re-encounter probability – dependent in turn on the ring design and
the spatial and temporal distribution of finders/observers – will be demonstrated. The
results of an analysis of the White Stork ringing in Poland will be mentioned as well.
The presentation will include a proposal of ringers monitoring the Polish White Stork
ecology, a programme of mass and long-term ringing in the sample areas, combined
with investigations of population density, breeding success and phenology.
35
Grzegorz KOPIJ
Department of Wildlife Management,

University of Namibia, Namibia
e-mail: gkopij@unam.na
IS THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA

URBANIZATION IN THE CITY OF WROCŁAW
SUCCESSFUL?
During 1994-2009, the number White Stork pairs breeding in the city of Wrocław
(293 km2) underwent marked fluctuations, from five pairs in 1999 to 19 2004. Most
nests were clumped in two sites in the Odra valley. Two nests were located only about
1 km from the city hall. The fluctuations in numbers may be linked to the availability
of main feeding grounds and prevailing weather conditions. In years when grass was
mowed in the Odra valley, the White Stork number was higher than in years when the
grass was left unattended. Contrary to expectation, the mean number of fledglings
per successful pair was highest in the year when the White Stork reached the highest
population density. In two counties adjacent to Wroclaw, the number of breeding pairs
in 1994/95 was similar to that in the city (15 vs. 13 pairs). However, in 2004 the number
of breeding pairs in the city almost doubled that in the neighboring counties (10 vs. 19
pairs). After a sharp decline between 2004 and 2008, populations in both areas com-
pared reached a similar level again in 2009 (5 vs. 4 pairs), but much lower than that in
1994-1995. Wrocław is probably the only city (>100 000 people) in Poland, where the
White Stork has developed a sizable, although still unstable, breeding population.
36
Qenan MAXHUNI1 , Ahmet KARATAŞ1 , Rrahman FERIZI2,

Zeqir HASHANI3
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science-Art,

1
Niğde University, Niğde, Turkey

2
Paramedical Department, Medical Faculty,
University of Prishtina, Kosovo
3
Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences,
University of Tirana, Albania
e-mail: qmaxhuni@yahoo.com
THE nesting sites of the White Stork

Ciconia ciconia in KosovO in 2014
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large migratory bird that recovered from near
extinction during the last century in most parts of Europe. During 2014, intensive
studies were conducted for the first time to obtain data about the status of the nesting
population of the White Stork in the Republic of Kosovo. 20 active nests were regis-
tered in total. Most nests were built on rooftops, residential buildings` roofs etc. A low
mortality rate among young birds was found. The White Storks prefered the large River
valleys such as the Sitnica, Morava e Binces and Drini i Bardhe Rivers. The results are
valuable information for the ongoing extensive research and data collection during the
White Stork monitoring in Kosova since 2006.
37
Jacek J. NOWAKOWSKI1 , Krzysztof LEWANDOWSKI1 ,

Beata DULISZ1 , Ewa KOZŁOWSKA
Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection,

1
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3,

10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
e-mail: jacek.nowakowski@uwm.edu.pl
DIET OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA

IN THE BREEDING PERIOD IN NAREW RIVER VALLEY
(NE POLAND)
The diet of White Storks was studied by pellet analysis in the breeding colony in Pętowo
(European Stork Village – EURONATUR), located in the flooded Narew river valley
(Podlaskie province, NE Poland), within the Natura 2000 area PLH200024. White
Storks hunt for preys in meadows, areas of low vegetation, and shallow water in the
flooded area of the river valley and in fields.
A total of 200 pellets were collected in July and August 2000, at intervals of three to
five days.. The diet was dominated by invertebrates (insects: 99.9%). Shellfish accounted
for 0.05% and vertebrates for 0.09%.
Earthworms were detected with the highest frequency in the diet– and observed
in all pellets (100%). Their number, however, was not determined.
15,486 specimens of insects could be distinguished in the diet remains: beetles
Coleoptera 8,565 (3,148 larvae, 1,868 Scarabeidae, 1,798 Carabidae, 1,091 Sylphidae,
and others), 5,798 Orthoptera (5,695 Acrididae, 94 Tettigonidae, 9 Gryllotalpa gryl-
lotalpa), 756 Dermaptera (all Forficulidae), 308 Diptera (pupae), 22 Heteroptera, two
Lepidoptera larvae, one Hymenoptera (Formicidae), nine specimens of Molusca (Unio
sp. – five ind., Anisus sp. – one ind., Anodonta sp. – one ind., Viviparus sp. – one ind.,
Helix pomatia – one ind.), and 13 specimens of vertebrates (six frogs Rana sp., four
voles Microtus sp., three moles Talpa europaea)
The greatest share (40.9%) had invertebrates with a body size of 21-30 mm, but also
quite abundant were invertebrates 11-20 mm (32.6%) and 41-50 mm (20.3%) large.
During the season, a significant increase in the share of Coleoptera larvae and
Acrididae in the diet was observed. In the 3rd decade of July Staphylidae, Catharidae,
Cetonia aurata, and Lepidoptera were also found in the diet, but no significant changes
in other groups of animals could be detected.
38
Ortaç ONMUŞ1 , Ümit BOLAT2, Tuba USTA2, Mehmet SIKI1 ,

Cihangir ALTUN2
Ege University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology; Natural

1
History Museum Research and Application Center, Turkey

2
General Directorate of National Parks and Nature Conservation, the
Ministry of Forestry and Waterworks. Turkey
e-mail: ortac.onmus@ege.edu.tr
& ortac.onmus@gmail.com
FILLING THE LARGEST GAP OF THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA POPULATION IN THE WESTERN
PALEARCTIC REGION: THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST
COMPLETE COUNTRYWIDE WHITE STORK CENSUS
IN TURKEY
There is little information about the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) population in
Turkey, which is clearly indicated by the large estimation of breeding population size
(15,000–35,000 pairs). In this study, we present the results of the first complete White
Stork census in Turkey. The census was made by the collaboration of the General
Directorate of National Parks – the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and
Ege University of Izmir. Also birdwatchers, hunters and other volunteers participated
in the census. The count was done countrywide between 14 April and 15 June in 2011
to 2013. Active and inactive nests were counted, and nest locations and nest supporting
structures (NSS) were identified. White Stork nests were found in 78 out of 81 prov-
inces and in or nearby 2,481 out of 38,312 populated areas (cities, towns, villages, etc.).
A total of 9,881 White Stork nests were found, of which 8,683 (87.9%) were occupied
by a pair during the survey. About 50% of the whole breeding population was found in
eleven provinces. The mean density of HPa nests per 100 km2 (StD) across the whole
country was 1.2±2.0, with maxima of 14.0, 6.8 and 5.5 observed in the Samsun, Edirne
and Iğdır Provinces, respectively. Among the nests discovered, 98.3% (n = 9,709) of NSS
were identified. The most commonly found NSS were low-voltage electricity pylons
(n =4 ,032, 41.5%), trees (n = 1,827, 18.8%), roofs (n=1,042, 10.7%), telephone pylons
(n = 746, 7.7%), chimneys (n = 566, 5.8%), mosques (n = 452, 4.7%), and high-voltage
39
electricity pylons (n = 340, 3.5%). Among the identified NSSs, 5.9% (n = 576) were on
artificial nest platforms. The distribution of nests was affected by various environmental
factors such as altitude, farming and existing wetland characters, indicated by uneven
distributions. The results of this study will significantly contribute to the White Stork
conservation efforts in the Western Palearctic.
40
Grzegorz ORŁOWSKI1 , Jerzy KARG2, Joanna CZARNECKA3,

Leszek JERZAK2, Karol ZUB4, Marcin BOCHEŃSKI2

Institute of Agricultural and Forest Environment,
1
Polish Academy of Sciences, Bukowska 19, 60-809 Poznań, Poland

2
Department of Nature Conservation, Faculty of Biological Sciences,
University of Zielona Góra, Prof. Z. Szafrana 1,
65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland
3
Ecology Department, Institute of Biology and Biochemistry,
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19,
20-033 Lublin, Poland
4
Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
e-mail: orlog@poczta.onet.pl
THE DIET AND PREY COMPOSITION

AND ENDOZOOCHOROUS SEED DISPERSAL
IN WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA IN WESTERN
POLAND: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND FURTHER
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND NEEDS
Based on an analysis of White Stork Ciconia ciconia pellets (N = 165) collected in 2012
from 52 various nests located in 39 villages of Western Poland we identified 16,557
individual animal prey items, of which 16,305 (98.5%) were invertebrates and 252
(1.5%) vertebrates. The most numerous invertebrate prey were orthopterans (n = 12,247;
75.1% of all invertebrates), including grasshoppers Chorthippus sp. (n = 6,028 individu-
als; 37.0% of all invertebrates), bush-crickets Metrioptera sp. (n = 5,360; 32.9%) and
relatively large-bodied Tettigonia sp. (n = 760; 4.7%). Among vertebrates, slow-worms
Anguis fragilis were most numerous (n = 91 individuals; 36.1% of all vertebrates), al-
though further examination of remains of this and other reptile species recorded in the
analysed pellets are needed. Other abundant vertebrate prey were small rodents, with
Microtus sp. (with two other less numerous taxa of rodents a total n = 84 individuals;
33.0% of all vertebrates) and European mole (n = 39; 15.5% of all vertebrates) being
most numerous. In two pellets we found only remains of plant material. Interestingly,
41
from these pellets we recovered at least 4,300 seeds of various plants, in vast major-
ity of dry-fruited species without any morphological adaptation to endozoochorous
dispersal, such as several species of mono- and dicotyledones, including agricultural
weeds (e.g. Setaria spp., Carex hirta, Ranunculus spp., Stellaria media, Chenopodium
album and Polygonum sp.) which suggests a role of White Storks in long-distance dis-
persal of various plants from it’s European breeding sites along the migratory route to
distant wintering grounds.
42
Javier Pineda-PAMPLIEGA1; José I. AGUIRRE1 & Ursula HÖFLE2
1
Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty
of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
2
SaBio Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC,
(CSIC-UCLM-JCCM) Ronda de Toledo s/n, Ciudad Real 13005, Spain
e-mail: jpineda@ucm.es, jaguirre@ucm.es,
Ursula.hofle@uclm.es
ADAPTATION TO ANTHROPIZED ENVIRONMENTS:

THE CASE OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
The Spanish populations of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) suffered a marked de-
cline in Spain until de 1980s of the last century due to the alteration of their feeding
areas. However, in the last decades those populations have recovered mainly due to
new food resources: rubbish dumps. An unlimited supply of food all year round also
means exposure to several human-generated pollutants. Individual storks feeding there
must develop different mechanisms of adaptation to allow use of this resource without
a detrimental health status.
We sampled chicks from four colonies along a feeding gradient, i.e. individuals
being fed completely natural food to those exclusively with food items from rubbish
dumps. Blood samples allowed the evaluation of nutritional and general health status
and oxidant/antioxidant balance.
Regarding nutritional status, chicks fed with natural food showed lower concentra-
tions of albumin, glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, indicative of lower ingestion
rates. The AST, ALT and alkaline phosphatase, as indicators of hepatic alterations, and
creatinine and creatine kinase, as indicators of renal function, showed no differences
between populations, indicating no differences regarding health status. Deregulation
of oxidant / antioxidant balance is a main mechanism of damage of many pollutants.
We found significant differences in the oxidative damage indicative parameters, with
lower values of LDH, plasmatic MDA and ROMs in individuals which fed in rubbish
dumps. These results agree with higher values of two non-enzymatic endogenous
antioxidants, i.e. glutathione and uric acid, in these individuals.
43
The use of rubbish dumps as areas to obtain food have allowed White Storks to
increase their population numbers. They show a better nutritional status due to the
high presence of food, without alteration of their health status or their oxidant / anti-
oxidant balance.
44
Piotr PROFUS

Institute of Nature Conservation PAS, Cracow, Poland
e-mail: profus@iop.krakow.pl
STUDIES ON THE BREEDING SUCCESS

AND REPRODUCTION OF WHITE STORK
CICONIA CICONIA IN CENTRAL EUROPE
A large amount of literature data indicate regional differences in the number of young
raised and fledged by White Stork breeding pairs. The brood size, i.e. the number of
fledglings raised is a measure of reproductive success of a pair. The comparison of
results from different regions of Central Europe and from different periods indicates
large differences in the reproduction index JZa. The value of this index is highly affected
by exo- and endogenous factors, which are important during migration and stay on
wintering grounds. In Poland, this value ranges from 0.31 to 3.60, depending on the
year, region and other factors. At the north-western limit of the species’ range, near
the city of Oldenburg, any pair raised, on average, between 0.67 and 2.84 fledglings
(JZa) during 72 study seasons, and each pair with a successful brood (JZm) between
1.58 and 3.58 young. In Upper Silesia in 1993-2004, stork pairs with at least one reared
young fledged on average 2.57 young (range 2.08-2.75).
Every year, a varying proportion of pairs living in nests does not fledge any young
for various reasons. On average 28.5% pairs range 17-38%) in 15 study plots located
in Central Europe and in Denmark did not rear any nestlings during the same years.
In Upper Silesia, the percentage of pairs without young capable of flying ranged from
16.5 to 31.2% (on average 23.4%).
In accordance with the “condition hypothesis”, a female may start laying eggs after
a proper weight gain. In the studied populations in Upper Silesia and in the region
of Podtatrze (a “mountain” population at the foot of the Polish Tatras), females laid
on average 4.23 and 4.48 eggs (range 2-6), respectively. The size of clutches and the
number of reared young was negatively correlated with the date of nest occupation.
The largest number of young was fledged by pairs laying five, six and four eggs. Stork
pairs breeding early in the year raised and fledged young birds from 74% of all eggs
45
laid, but pairs with a delayed start of breeding only from 48% of all eggs. It has been
documented that the breeding success decreased with an increase in the size of clutches:
the highest success was observed for two and three eggs (75% and 69%), and the lowest
for clutches with 6 eggs (50%).
Any pair of White Storks breeding at the foot of the Polish Tatras (500-890 m a.s.l.)
fledged, on average, 2.2 young (JZa). If only successful pairs are considered, the re-
production index is higher and ranged from 2.7 fledglings per pair (JZm). This value
ensures unassisted survival of the population in the region of Podhale, Orava and Spiš.
The size of this population and all other stork populations is also affected by emigration
and immigration of birds capable of reproduction.
46
Judy SHAMOUN-BARANES, Willem BOUTEN, Emiel van LOON
Computational Geo-Ecology, IBED, University of Amsterdam,

POB 94248, 1090GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
e-mail: Shamoun@uva.nl
COPING WITH CHANGE: SCOPE FOR A COMPARATIVE

ANALYSIS ACROSS MIGRATORY FLYWAYS
The White Stork is a migratory species whose populations have gone through tremen-
dous changes over the last decades, from local extirpation, changes in diet and habitat
use, and changes in migratory behaviour. Rapidly changing environmental conditions
and human intervention are likely to be the main factors responsible for these changes
in behaviour and life history traits. Compared to most avian species, many aspects of
White Stork migration have been studied. As obligatory soaring birds they are vis-
ible during migration, especially at geographic convergence zones, they have been
tracked using ring recoveries, by radar, motorized gliders, satellite transmitters and
GPS tracking. The influence of weather on migratory behaviour has been studied at
multiple scales, especially along the eastern flyway. These studies focus on short term
responses to weather conditions and will be reviewed in this talk. Yet in times of rapid
environmental change, more information is needed on how individuals cope with envi-
ronmental conditions throughout the annual routine, and what the consequences may
be for different populations. We propose initiating new studies that integrate biologging
to measure the movement and behavior of individual storks throughout their annual
routine with existing demographic and breeding ecology studies from several different
populations. Through collaborative research we will work towards understanding how
behavioural responses to environmental conditions influences migratory behaviour
and foraging behaviour throughout the annual routine and what the consequences are
for survival and reproduction. We strongly believe that collaborating and integrating
information during the breeding season, en-route and in the wintering areas across
multiple populations will greatly benefit White Stork conservation in a world that is
quickly changing.
47
Joachim SIEKIERA, Artur SIEKIERA, Piotr PROFUS

Institute of Nature Conservation, al. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków,
Poland;e-mail: profus@iop.krakow.pl, joachim.siekiera@chespa.eu,
artur.siekiera@chespa.eu
MIGRATION STRATEGIES AND WINTERING

OF UPPER SILESIAN WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA
TRACKED BY A SATELLITE
Nine White Stork fledglings from five nests located in Opole Silesia were equipped
with GPS satellite transmitters (one in July 2012, and eight in 2013). Five young birds
began to migrate to African wintering grounds between the 12th and the 27th August
(median: 22.08; n=6). Three other young birds from a very delayed clutch (hatching
date 5 July, first flight from nest 29 August to 3 September 2013) began their migration
to a wintering site as late as the 19th September. One of the young from the delayed
clutch died in Turkey and another one was killed in Sudan. The surviving young bird
overwintered in the south of Hungary and at present (13 July 2014) lives near the
Czech town of Bruntal, i.e. just 50 km from the its place of birth. As many as four out
of six young from the other nests were killed by electrocution on unprotected electrical
poles or collision with overhead power lines in Slovakia, Romania and Turkey (two
individuals). The cause of death of one bird in Turkey remains unknown. The first of
the marked storks (“Max”) was killed on the 19th January 2013 on the border between
Sudan and Chad, while a transmitter failure or staying in remote places, too distant from
a base transceiver station, is suspected in the case of another bird (“Dawid”), spotted
for the last time (15 April 2014) in northern Sudan. This high juvenile mortality rate
during migration (75%; excluding “Dawid”) and a huge increase in the area of maize
and oilseed rape crops at the expense of the main feeding grounds – meadows and
grazing lands – seems to be the main cause of the White Stork disappearance in Upper
Silesia in the past ten years.
On clear days between the 10th and the 25th August in 2012 and 2013, migratory
flocks of storks were spotted in Upper Silesia using a small plane “Cirrus”. Flocks were
looked out for “from the air” in the afternoon when they were arriving to prey before
48
night roosting. Flocks at the roosting sites were located by a ground team of natural-
ists to search for birds with rings whose numbers were subsequently written down. It
has been evidenced that the upper reaches of the Oder River valley are an important
ecological corridor for i.a. storks migrating from eastern and northern Germany,
Sweden and western Poland.
49
Marek STAJSZCZYK

Biuro Urządzania Lasu i Geodezji Leśnej,
oddział w Brzegu, Poland
e-mail: marekstajszczyk@wp.pl
CHANGES IN THE BREEDING AREA

OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA IN EUROPE,
NORTH – EASTERN
The 20th century is characterized by a strong expansion of the White Stork in the
Baltic States (especially in Estonia) and Russia. Over the past 110 years the eastern
boundary of the area occupied by White Storks shifted approx. 1,100-1,300 km to the
east. At the beginning of the 20th century extreme northeasterly breeding sites were
located in Estonia and around the lake Peipsi south of St. Petersburg at the turn of the
20th and 21st century. Nesting is already reported for the Republic of Tatarstan and the
circuit on the western foreland Kirov Ural Mountains. The northern limit of the White
Stork breeding distribution reaches the southern taiga zone, and currently nesting
in the area of Kostroma in the upper basin of the Dvina is known. The expansion of
White Storks to the east is caused by a natural awareness increase of the inhabitants
of Russia, parceling land of collective farms and state farms, climatic changes that
are taking place in Eastern Europe and the high reproductive rate of the population of
White Storks inhabiting the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine.
50
Emilio R. ROJAS1,2, Pierre-Yves HENRY3, Gérard WEY4,

Blandine DOLIGEZ5, Sylvie MASSEMIN1,2
1
University of Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien,
Strasbourg, France e-mail: emilio.rojas@iphc.cnrs.fr
2
Département d’Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE), CNRS
UMR7178, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
3
CNRS UMR7179/UMR720, Département Ecologie et Gestion
de la Biodiversité – Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle,
1 avenue du Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, France
4
Groupe Cigogne France, Aprecial, 21 rue Agen, 68000 Colmar, France
5
UMR CNRS 5558 – LBBE, «Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive», UCB Lyon
1-Bât. Grégoire Mendel 43 bd du 11 novembre 1918,
69622 Villeurbanne, France
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS

OF DISPERSAL PATTERN IN FRENCH POPULATIONS
OF WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
Dispersal behaviour is a primordial determinant of the structure and spatial dynamics

of populations. Two different types can be distinguished: the natal dispersal (ND) which
is a permanent movement from birth site to the site of first breeding attempt, and the
breeding dispersal (BD) which is the movement made by individuals who have already
reproduced, between two successive breeding sites. The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia),
a large migratory European bird, helps us to determine the factors that have shown an
effect on these ecological processes. Based on a 25 years ringing and resighting database,
we have studied the pattern of BD and ND of this species all over the French territory
according to climatic conditions, years and different populations. White Storks showed
a high propensity to disperse as immatures (81.97%), but not exclusively, since they
also showed a non-negligible BD (8.20%). The BD propensity was impacted by the age
of the individuals (younger breeders disperse more often) and the climatic conditions
(NAO index), whereas the ND propensity was influenced by climatic conditions, but
also temporal (years) and geographical (population) situations. Using the NAO index,
we can conclude for both ND and BD, that the better the climatic conditions are, the
higher the proportion of dispersing individuals is. The ND distances were influenced
51
by these last two factors. The orientations showed a non-random distribution for the
ND for which each population on the French territory displayed a statistically different
pattern. Moreover, the mean ND orientation follows significantly the orientation of
mean migration direction. This highlighted the fact that individuals are biologically
prone to follow it, even for dispersing processes.
52
Irina SAMUSENKO
Scientific and practical center of NAS of Belarus for biological re-

sources (Institute of Zoology), Belarus
e-mail: isamusenko@gmail.com
Monitoring of White Stork CICONIA CICONIA

population in Belarus
Dynamics of White Stork numbers and distribution in Belarus were analyzed on

the base of questionnaire data from ten national censuses (1957-2004). A decline of
numbers was observed from the end of 1950s until the mid 1980s, and an increase
thereafter. A significant increase was noted in the Eastern and Northern regions of the
country in 1967-2004, but negative trends were characteristic for the Western regions
at the same time.
A full census of nests on sample plots (6.2% country area) was organized for the
first time in 2004, additionally to the standard questioning. After correction of available
data and extrapolation, the Belarusian population was estimated at ca. 21,500 breed-
ing pairs, with a mean breeding density of 10.2 pairs/100 km2 (StD). That was almost
twice as high as the estimation based of the previous censuses and was mainly due to
a higher quality of last count. The highest numbers (HPa, StD) and highest breeding
success (JZm, JZa) were found in areas along the Pripyat River.
Monitoring of numbers, distribution and breeding biology was conducted in 1991-
2013 in the Pripyat River floodplain on the monitoring plot “Turov” with an area of 330
km2. Breeding pair numbers here almost doubled from 1991 (115 pairs) to 2013 (217
pairs), though 146 pairs were registered here in 1974. Spatial redistribution of breeding
pairs occurred in floodplain area during the last decades because of loosing meadows
due to afforestation and overgrowing with bushes. Now storks breed mainly in human
settlements. The mean brood size (JZm) is positively and significantly correlated with
hydrological conditions in the spring, i.e. duration of flooding and water level of the
Pripyat River. JZm and JZa are higher in area along the riverbed (< 2 km). Compared
with 1974, the proportion of nests on trees and buildings decreased significantly from
51.6% to 2.8% and from 41.9% to 13.8%, respectively. At the same time the proportion
of nests on electric pylons increased steadily from 1.6% to 65.0%.
53
Mehmet SIKI1 , Ortaç ONMUŞ1 , Orhan GÜL1 , Ömer DÖNDÜREN1 ,

Bahattin SÜRÜCÜ2, Osman YELKEN3
Ege University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology;

1
Natural History Museum Research and Application Center,

Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
2
Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers Association (EKODOSD),
Kusadası, Aydın, Turkey
3
Selçuk Municipality, Izmir, Turkey
e-mail:ortac.onmus@ege.edu.tr & ortac.onmus@gmail.com
THE INITIAL RESULTS OF FIVE-YEAR-LONG WHITE

STORK CICONIA CICONIA CONSERVATION
AND RINGING IN WESTERN TURKEY
We initiated a White Stork ringing project in 2010 in four different river basins (from
south to north:Buyuk Menderes, Kucuk Menderes, Gediz, Susurluk River basins) in
western Turkey. Aim: In this study, we aimed at (i) presenting the initial results of the
five-year-long White Stork ringing scheme, (ii) mapping the post-fledgling, natal and
breeding dispersal of White Storks born in Turkey, and (iii) giving some basic informa-
tion about our knowledge on the threats and the population dynamics of White Storks
in Turkey. Methods: A total of 638 White Stork Juveniles and eight adults were captured
and ringed at nest in various locations in the mentioned river basins between 2010
and 2014 (81, 192, 210, 122, and 41 individuals in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014,
respectively). All chicks were ringed only with a plastic ring. Biometric measurements
were made and feather samples were collected for genetic analyses. Ground surveys were
employed and resightings recorded. Results: A total of 33 resightings were done on 31
White Storks ringed (5.1% of all 646 birds ringed in Turkey) between 2010 and 2014.
Out of 33 individuals, 14 (42.4%) were observed breeding, 14 (42.4%) were reported
dead, two (6.1%) were observed during migration in Israel, two (6.1%) during foraging,
and one (3.0%) subadult oversummering in Israel. The longest breeding dispersal of a
White Stork ringed as a juvenile in the study area and found breeding in other regions
was 530 km (the bird was ringed in Aydın Province-Turkey in 2011 and was reported
breeding in Gonimo around the Lake Kerkini in Greece in 2013). The reason for deaths
54
of White Storks were collision and electrocution, but observed only within the first
two weeks of post-fledgling movements. Conclusions: Existing resightings confirm
that the populations of White Storks breeding and born in different river basins are
interconnected to each other and even disperse to a region outside the known dispersal
range of the other Western Palearctic storks. Long-term ringing and resighting data in
Turkey can deepen our knowledge about the population dynamics, post-fledging, natal
and breeding dispersal and conservation of White Storks born in Turkey. Therefore, it
is essential to increase the intensity of ringing and resighting efforts.
55
Michał SKAKUJ
Polish Wildlife Strike Committee, Poland

e-mail: ekoaviation@michalskakuj.com
AVIATION SAFETY AND THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA IN POLAND
The rapid development of aviation in recent decades makes the relationship aviation-
wildlife really important. The relationship includes both birds species as well as pro-
tected areas. It concerns a negative impact on birds as well as bird strike (BS) risks.
With a few exceptions, the BS risk is much more important than bird mortality or
disturbance. Knowledge of the aviation-wildlife interactions is of great importance
for high BS risk species (large, heavy birds) with a special nature protection status and
important breeding population in Poland, just like the White Stork. Fortunately, so far
we have had fewer than ten not catastrophic BS with White Storks in Poland. However,
the last two cases concerned large commercial aircrafts and caused a serious threat to
human life and substantial damage. White Stork nest distribution affects the level of
BS threat, especially in North and East Poland. The greatest risk applies to both civil
and military aviation on and around aerodromes as well as MRT – low level Military
Training Routs. However, due to the nature of flight operations (at low altitude, speed
and flight profiles, aerodromes distribution), general aviation (GA) potentially may
impact on some White Stork populations. The development of the GA aerodromes in
recent years includes Northern Poland (Masurian District) and increasingly popular air
shows. Therefore, there is a special need for proper knowledge and the BS risks aware-
ness. This is very important in case of the White Stork population density, especially for
low level flight in north-east Poland. Hence a proper modification of the low level flight
rules would be reasonably based on the birds-aviation relationship analysis, especially
over areas with a high density of White Stork nest sites. It is extremely important for
both aviation safety and the protection of the White Stork and its breeding population,
including the Natura 2000 network.
56
Aleksandra STELIGA, Mariusz KASPRZAK, Marcin BOCHEŃSKI,

Piotr KAMIŃSKI, Leszek JERZAK

Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Poland
e-mail: m.kasprzak@wnb.uz.zgora.pl
DEVELOPMENT OF RED BLOOD CELL PARAMETERS

IN WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA CHICKS, GROWING
IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
Blood samples were taken from 111 White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks, reared in 36
nests in SW Poland in 2010. Nests were located in four different types of environment:
a) a breeding colony in the middle Odra River valley, b) solitary nests in the middle
Odra River valley, c) solitary nests around the city of Zielona Góra, and d) solitary
nests near the cooper smelter of Głogów. Blood samples were taken from the chicks at
10-51 days of age, and standard methods in hematology were used for determining the
level of RBC, Hct, Hgb, MCV, MCH and MCHC. The levels of RBC, Hct and Hgb were
positively correlated with the beak length, corresponding to nestling age. The lowest
RBC number was found in storks from solitary nests around the city of Zielona Góra,
and the highest in storks from the middle Odra River valley, (both solitary and colonial
nests). Reversely, the level of Hct was higher in storks around of city of Zielona Góra
and cooper smelter of Głogów than in individuals from the middle Odra River valley.
This could be an effect of dehydration of chicks growing up near the cities. The highest
Hgb concentration was detected in storks from solitary nests in the middle Odra River
valley and near Zielona Góra, the lowest in storks growing up in the colony and near
the cooper smelter. Our results indicate few physiological mechanisms enabling proper
body condition during development in different environmental conditions, e.g. a low
RBC number was compensated by high Hgb concentration in the chicks’ blood.
57
Hans SKOV
DOF’s Storkgroup, Denmark

e-mail: hans.skov@moesmus.dk
DENMARK –
ONCE A CLASSIC STORK COUNTRY
Population trends - The White Stork is a rather new bird in Denmark. It probably ar-
rived here as late as in the 15th century. It was already common in the 16th century when
nests often are mentioned in the written sources. At about 1720 23 stork nests were
counted in the town of Ribe. In 1811 the rectory in Virring in East-Jutland had no less
than 64 occupied stork nests. Between 1800 and 1850 the stork population reached its
maximum in Denmark with an estimated number of 8,000-10,000 pairs. At this time
numerous White Stork colonies existed in villages, towns and even in forests. From the
“Störungsjahr” (“disturbance year”) 1856 it was clear that the number of White Storks
declined in most parts of the country. By 1890 the population was down to approx. 4,000
pairs, and in 1927 only 400-500 pairs were left. The first international stork census in
1934 revealed an increase to 859 pairs. The increase continued until 1940 when approx.
1,100-1,200 pairs nested in Denmark. Then a new rapid decline started, and in 1949
only approx. 300 pairs remained. In 1952 when the annually counts started 222 pairs
were left, a number which declined further to 111 pairs in 1964. After 1965 the White
Stork bred only in Jutland. In 1974 the number of pairs was down to 40, in 1984 to 19,
and in 1994 to only six pairs. 2001 was the first year with no storks breeding success-
fully in Denmark because only one pair without nestlings and four single individuals
remained. In 2008 no storks of wild origin were occupying nests in Denmark, and,
therefore, the wild population of White Storks in Denmark had gone extinct.
Reasons for the sad development - The most important reasons for the rapid decline
are destruction of suitable habitats by the drainage of wetlands and the intensification
of agriculture. This development began more than 200 years ago when an agricultural
reform took place. At first storks profited from these changes, but from about 1850 the
development got too far and the decline of the stork population became evident for
everybody. The economic crisis in the 1930s turned time back and the stork population
increased again. Starting with the German occupation in 1940 the agricultural sector
58
was forced to produce as much as possible because of the market’s demand, and, there-
fore, the last rapid decline accelerated. This development combined with an increasing
use of pesticides, artificial fertilizer and large monocultures has made Denmark a very
hostile country for the White Stork.
Epilog - Although the wild population of nesting storks was extinct in 2008,
Denmark has not been without White Storks. Annually 200-400 individuals visit the
country but because of unsuitable habitats do not settle to breed. In 2004 a pair from the
stork project in Scania in Sweden settled west of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand.
This pair has stayed there since (also during the winter) and fledged young successfully
in most years. Since 2012 a new pair has also nested in Jutland close to the German
border. Of this pair, the male in 2012 and 2013 originated from the stork project in
Sweden. In 2014 this male was replaced by a wild German stork, so both mates are
now of wild origin. Nevertheless, both pairs nesting in Denmark are at certain times
totally dependent on artificial feeding to raise a brood successfully.
59
Hans-Jürgen STORK, Bahattin SÜRÜCÜ1
NABU Berlin: Lotosweg 58, D-13467 Berlin, Germany

e-mail: hans-juergen.stork@t-online.de
1
Ekosistemi Koruma ve Doğa Sevenler Derneği - Ecosystem Protection
and Nature Lovers Association (EKODOSD) Kusadasi, Turkey
e-mail: ekodosd@gmail.com
POPULATION DEVELOPMENT OF THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA L. IN THE LOWER VALLEY
OF MENDERES, TURKEY
Half a century ago more the 350 pairs of White Storks settled in the bird paradise of
the Menderes valley. Urbanisation process, electrocution on unsecured electric posts
and large-scale cultivation of cotton too resulted in a significant decline of breeding
pairs, similar to other regions of Turkey, especially in the last decades. Monocultures,
especially of cotton, replaced many small-scale farming areas and destroyed food areas
by salinization, inundation, biocides and management of cotton cultivation. The struc-
ture of many stork villages changed too. Regular recordings carried out in stork villages
confirmed the negative development down to a third of the past stork population.
Recordings were made by Heckenroth et al. (1986-1995), Brinkmann et al. (1988),
and Stork (1996-2014) in the plains of the river Menderes downstream Aydin. The new
recordings of EKODOSD (2011-2014) are from the Söke county without the northern
villages like Uzunkum and Caraagacli Ciftlikköy. A village eastern of Aydin, mainly
with small-scale farming without cotton fields, may be a reference place.
Initiated precautionary measures at power poles, bird ringing and inventory sur-
veys of the Turkish conservation organisation ECODOSD in cooperation with Aydem
Elektrik Perakende Satış A.Ş. showed a first success. In 2014, 50% of the nests are built
on power poles with new platforms. The population decrease seems to have stopped
and the remaining population is almost stable.
Wetlands und feeding grounds near the old meandering loops need a new con-
cept of nature protection for the Menderes plain, such as the UNESCO biosphere
reservation.
60
Kai-Michael THOMSEN
Michael-Otto-Institute within NABU, German

e-mail: kai-michael.thomsen@nabu.de
PRESENT STATUS OF THE WORLD POPULATION

OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA
The White Stork is one of the best monitored bird species. Six international censuses
since 1934 gave an overview about the population development on the international
level. In 2014 the 7th International White Stork Census is organized and more than 30
countries participated.
The presentation gives an overview about the results of the 6th IWSC and the present
population status of the White Stork in different countries and discusses the reasons
for the developments. First results of the 7th International White Stork Census will be
presented.
61
Piotr TRYJANOWSKI

Institute of Zoology, Poznan University of Life Sciences,
Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
e-mail: piotr.tryjanowski@gmail.com
SOMETHING IN THE WATER? WHY ARE THERE SUCH

BIG DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POPULATIONS
OF THE WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA IN EASTERN
AND WESTERN EUROPE?
Changes in farmland plant and animal communities are commonly used as an exam-
ple of the strongly declining biodiversity in Europe. The populations of many species
have been shown to suffer from intensification of management, reduction of landscape
heterogeneity, habitat loss and fragmentation, and currently especially from climate
change and invasion of alien species. These conditions particularly dominate farm-
land in the economically well developed countries of Western Europe. Currently, the
farmland environment in Central-Eastern Europe is generally more extensive than in
Western Europe and a larger proportion of people still live in rural areas; thus generating
different conditions for both organisms living in agricultural areas as well as human
societies and economy. A nice example of these differences is exactly the hero of our
conference, the White Stork Ciconia ciconia. To protect declining populations living in
farmland, detailed knowledge on both this particular species as well as community level
is necessary. However, due to scientific tradition and availability of funding, the major-
ity of studies have been carried out in Western Europe. In consequence this provokes
a question: are findings obtained under western conditions useful to identify the fate
of storks in Central-Eastern Europe? In this talk I argue that not necessary. However,
it is easy to say that we need more detailed studies, but our intention is also to show
potential benefits (even economical) from developing of this kind of study.
62
Daiva VAITKUVIENĖ, Mindaugas DAGYS
Nature Research Centre, Akademijos str. 2,

LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
e-mail: daiva@ekoi.lt
CHANGES IN WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA

POPULATION IN LITHUANIA BETWEEN 1994-2010
The results of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) nest census in Lithuania in 2010 revealed
that the population has doubled since the last census in 1994. The entire country was
surveyed for White Stork nests by over 20 professional observers. Breeding performance
was recorded in a sample of nests in July 2010. The collected data were transferred to
and managed in a GIS environment. A total of 21,192 White Stork nests was recorded,
of which 18,782 were occupied by breeding birds, compared to 9,400 occupied nests
recorded in 1994. The density of occupied nests increased from 17 to 29 nests/100
km² of the total country area. Electricity line poles were the most common nest sites
in 2010, with 49% of all nests located on them, compared to 13% in 1994. Electricity
line poles became increasingly important nest sites for the expanding population.
There was a sharp decrease in the proportion of nests built in trees, from 52% in 1994
to 21% in 2010.
Seven new White Stork colonies, each comprising 10–22 breeding pairs, were
recorded during this nest census. In 1994, only one colony was known. Most of the
colonies (six) were located in western Lithuania, with four of them within a distance of
25 km from each other. All White Stork colonies were established in trees. Four closely
spaced colonies in western Lithuania were established in coniferous trees, namely pine,
others in deciduous trees, I.e. poplar, oak and lime. Mean breeding success of White
Storks was 2.7 young per successful pair, a value very similar to that recorded in 1994
with 2.6 young per successful pair. The population of White Storks in Lithuania has
doubled between 1994 and 2010, possibly due to favourable changes in farming prac-
tices, and at present is in a favourable conservation status.
63
Gottfried WILHARM1,*, Evelyn SKIEBE1 , Marie T. POPPEL1 ,

Sarah LESER1 , Christine HEIDER1 , Magdalena HEINDORF1 ,
Mariusz KASPRZAK2, Piotr KAMIŃSKI, Marcin BOCHENSKI2,
Marcin TOBÓŁKA3, Paul G. HIGGINS4, Yvonne PFEIFER1 ,
Leszek JERZAK2

1
Robert Koch-Institute, Wernigerode Branch, Burgstr. 37, D-38855
Wernigerode, Germany
2
Prof. Z. Szafrana Street 1, 65-561 Zielona Góra, Poland
3
Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences,
Wojska Polskiego 71 C, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
4
Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene,
University of Cologne, D‑50935 Cologne, Germany
*Address correspondence to: Gottfried Wilharm, Robert Koch-Institut,
Bereich Wernigerode, Burgstr. 37, D-38855 Wernigerode, Germany
e-mail: wilharmg@rki.de
MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON WHITE STORK

NESTLINGS REVEAL FREQUENT COLONIZATION
WITH THE OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGEN
ACINETOBACTER BAUMANNII AND WITH A NOVEL
CORYNEBACTERIUM SPECIES
Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging nosocomial pathogen with a notable potential

to develop resistance to antibiotics. Unsatisfactorily, the reservoirs of this pathogen
outside the hospital setting are poorly defined. Here, putting forth the hypothesis of
avian reservoirs of A. baumannii, we have tested White Stork nestlings for the pres-
ence of this opportunistic pathogen. Using selective and non-selective culture media
we screened choana swab samples from nestling for the presence of A. baumannii. The
samples were collected from three different regions in Poland and included repeated
sampling of some of the nestlings. Overall, we isolated A. baumannii from 19% of the
nestlings, the highest rate of colonization reported for any endotherm to date. Molecular
64
typing and DNA sequencing methods revealed that none of the isolates was closely
related to those lineages spread in hospitals worldwide. However, stork isolates were
indistinguishable from clinical isolates regarding virulence, using the Galleria mel-
lonella infection model. Interestingly, the genetic diversity of A. baumannii isolates
was extremely high, pointing to a reservoir related to feeding rather than to parental
transmission. As another major finding we identified a novel Corynebacterium species
in more than 50% of the samples, indicating a commensal status of this species with a
long-standing history of coevolution with the White Stork.
65
Andrzej WUCZYŃSKI

Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Nature Conservation,
Lower-Silesian Field Station, Podwale 75, 50-449 Wrocław, Poland
e-mail: a.wuczynski@pwr.wroc.pl
NO MALE – NO SUCCESS.
ABNORMAL BREEDING BEHAVIOR OF THE WHITE STORK
CICONIA CICONIA IN AN AREA OF LOW
POPULATION DENSITY
South-western Poland has the lowest breeding density of the White Stork, and adverse
population parameters. A long-term study in a plot of 793 km2 revealed a density of
2.14 pars/100 km2 (2014), a low breeding success (JZa=1.60; JZm=2.37; 1989-2014),
and decreasing trends in numbers and productivity. It is unknown whether these nega-
tive tendencies may also have some behavioral consequences to breeding individuals.
However, in one nest within the study plot several phenomena believed to be rare in
the White Stork have regularly been observed. These behavioral abnormalities were:
replacement of non-breeding individuals during spring migration, regular first arrivals
of females before the males, associated with laying of (infertile?) eggs and early clutch
reduction, cases of unsuccessful prolonged incubation in two consecutive years (2009,
2010), unsuccessful breeding attempt by a solitary female (2013), and appearance of
the Black Stork in the nest (2013). As a result, the long-term productivity in the nest
was lower than the productivity in the local population. It is an open question whether
the concentration of abnormalities in one individual nest arose just from careful ob-
servations of that nest or the observed phenomena can be attributed to the decreasing
trends of the population.
66
Rostyslav ZHURAVCHAK
Rivnenskyi Nature Reserve, Ukraine

e-mail: rostikj@ukr.net
CURRENT STATUS OF THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA IN THE RIVNE REGION, UKRAINE
The Rivne region is located in the north-western part of Ukraine and belongs to the
regions with a high number and density of White Storks in the country, but quantitative
details are still missing. In 2007 we began counting and monitoring nests, pairs and
partly breeding success of the species within the Rivne region, mainly in the northern
part (Berezne, Volodymyrets, Dubrovytsia, Zarichne, Kostopil, Rokytrne and Sarny
regions). Up to 2013 we have information from 205 villages (53.6% of all settlements
in the mentioned regions) with a total number of 1,063 White Storks nests. The aver-
age density is 5.7 nests per settlement, but most villages have two to five nests and 10%
of villages have even more than ten (the largest number known so far is found in the
village of Berestia in the Dubrovytsia region: 20 nests, 18-19 of which are occupied by
a breeding pair every year).
On average 81% of all known nests are occupied for breeding, so the number of
White Storks for these areas is estimated at 1,700-1,900 breeding pairs. For the territory
of the entire Rivne region (for the central and southern part of this area the ratio of
nests per settlement is lower but the number and density of villages higher) the number
of White Storks was previously estimated at 3,300-3,800 pairs.
Most nests are located on electricity pylons (63.5%), fewer in trees (16.9%), on roofs
(11.1%) and water towers (7.9%). Less than 1% is located on atypical structures, of
which interesting examples are nests on haystacks and monuments, in both cases at a
height of 2.5 m. Despite of such nests allocation special nesting platforms on electric-
ity pylons in Rivne region are almost absent, the regional electricity company is still
discussing this issue.
67
Reto ZINGG
Verein Rheintaler Storch, Geschäftsstelle, Dickenstrasse 25, Postfach

57, 9642 Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland
e-mail: reto.zingg@oekoberatungen.ch
THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE WHITE STORK

CICONIA CICONIA IN THE ALPINE RHINE VALLEY
In 2014 the White Stork population in the alpine Rhine valley consists of 61 breeding
pairs. Already in 1984 first breeding pairs were observed in the region Vorarlberg in
Austria. In this area the population developed positively until today and counts actu-
ally 27 breeding pairs.
In the Swiss region of the alpine Rhine valley where the species disappeared around
1930 the population increased since the 1990s and currently reached 28 breeding
pairs.
Since the beginning of the 21st century a population of the White Stork is also
present in the Principality of Liechtenstein. In 2014 six breeding pairs were counted.
In this area, the species returned to breed again after being absent 100 years.
In addition to the development of the population in the alpine Rhine valley, the
typical habitats, areas with improved environmental conditions, and the establishment
of new food sources will be presented.
In 2013 the young White Stork “Rheini” has been GPS-tagged. The respective data
combined with the data of the ring-number-monitoring allows us to present first results
about the migration pattern of the White Stork population in the alpine Rhine valley.
68
69
Other species of storks

70
71
A.V. MATYUHIN, E.A. BOYKO, V.A. LOBKOV, Y.V. BABICHEV,

N. BLANKOVSKIY, L.M. BLANKOVSKAYA-TYAJKO, A. GUBA,
T.V. TALALAEVA, S.V. TALALAEV
Institute of Ecology and Evolution. AN Severtsova RAS

Russia, 119071, Moscow, Leninsky prosp., 33
e-mail: amatyukhin@rambler.ru
Odessa National University, Odessa, Ukraine
SOME DATA ON STORKS CICONIA CICONIA,

C. NIGRA IN EASTERN EUROPE
Ukraine
White Stork: In the area of the North-Western Black Sea the White Stork is a regular
nesting species. Nests are usually built in settlements. Adult and young birds stay on
the sidelines. In May and June 2011 in the district of Odessa region Rozdelnaya there
was an accumulation of 20-30 birds. In September, pairs and single birds were flying
together.
In the p. Jassky, Belaievsky district of the Odessa region five to seven nests are found.
At the Jassky fish ponds up to 50 birds accumulate in spring. Separate slots marked in
a. Kulevchi, Odessa region.
Black Stork: In the autumn period in different years single individuals were observed.
On 13-14 September 2013 in the Ivanovo region Odessa region a flock of about 40
birds flying south was detected.
Dnestr Moldavian Republic
White Stork: In Moldova, particularly in Transnistria, the White Stork is a regular nest-
ing species. In p. Nezavertaylovka, Slobodzeya district up to seven nests exist. On 11
July 2014 four nests with four, three and two times two nestlings, respectively. In June
in the floodplain of the Turunchuk (a tributary of the Dniester River) an accumulation
of up to 50 individuals. In p. Korotnay two nests.
Russia.Tverskaya region
72
In 1991-1992, in the village of Krasnoe, Pertsovo a constant number of adult birds in

spring and summer. In August-September up to 15-17 individuals followed a tractor
on the fields.
Kalmykia. Priyutnensky district
In spring and summer 2001-2003 one individual 15km on with Priyutnoye.
In June 2005 nine individuals of the White Stork were observed on a field during
hay mowing.
In 2009-2012 a pair of storks spent the spring-summer season in the 5 km. Priyutnoye
from a village.
73
Piotr ZIELIŃSKI1 , Bartosz JANIC1 , Michał STOPCZYŃSKI2,

Maciej KAMIŃSKI1 , Jerzy BAŃBURA3
1
Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, University of Łódź,
Poland
e-mail: pziel@biol.uni.lodz.pl
2
PTOP “Salamandra”, Poland
3
Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology,
University of Łódź, Poland
LONG-TERM POPULATION GROWTH OF THE BLACK

STORK CICONIA NIGRA IN CENTRAL POLAND
The population of the Black Stork in central Poland (Łódź voivodeship) increased from
merely three breeding pairs in the 1940s to 76 in 2013. The greatest increase in the
number of breeding pairs was recorded in the 1970s and 1980s. The density of the Black
Stork recorded in 2013 was 0.42 pairs per 100 km2 of the total study area (18,219km2)
and 1,98 pairs per 100 km2 of the forested area (3,831 km2). Although forests cover
only 21% of central Poland (Łódź voivodeship), the population of the Black Stork in
that area is still increasing. Data on nest location in subsequent decades (1970-1979;
1980-1989; 1990-1999; 2000-2009; 2010-2013) allowed us to compare changes in the
average distance of the new nest to the nearest building, public road, forest edge and
the nest of the nearest pair. The distance to the nearest building, public road and forest
edge did not change significantly (ANOVA, P > 0.05) in subsequent decades, while the
distance to the nearest neighbouring pair decreased significantly from 12.6 km in the
1970s to 5.7 km in 2010-2013 (ANOVA F(4,71)= 4.83; P = 0.003).
74
ZHOU Lizhi, YANG Chen, XUE Weiwei
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering,

Institute of Biodiversity and Wetland Ecology, Anhui University,
Hefei, 230601, China
e-mail: zhoulz@ahu.edu.cn
THE NEWLY BREEDING ORIENTAL WHITE STORKS

CICONIA BOYCIANA IN NON-BREEDING GROUNDS
OF CHINA
The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red
List of threatened species and was a widely distributed water bird native to several
countries in East Asia in history. In the past three decades, due to habitat loss, fragmen-
tation and human activities, the population appears to be declining with a shrinking
species range. In the 1970s, the wild breeding populations disappeared in southern
and northern Korea. In Japan, the last wild stork died in 1986. At the same period, the
wild populations in India and Bengal were also extinct. The recent wild population
has been estimated at about 3,000 individuals. The breeding range is considered to be
limited to northern China and southeastern Russia, with main wintering areas in the
wetland of the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain.
Recently, however, some individuals were observed breeding at their wintering area
or at stay-over sites on their flyway, such as Wangjiang of Anhui Province, Gaoyou and
Dafeng of Jiangsu Province, Poyang Lake and Jinxian of Jiangxi Province, Dongying
of Shandong Province, forming a new small breeding colony in China attracting high
public attention.
Anqing City is one of the non-typical breeding grounds in China. We studied the
breeding biology of resident Oriental White Storks from 2004 to 2006 in Wangjiang
County, Anqing City, Anhui Province. All occurrence sampling and instantaneous scan
sampling were used to collect data on activity budgets of behaviour of the adult and
young birds. The results showed that Oriental White Storks began breeding in the mid-
dle of February and finished in the last days of August. The mean distance of two nests
was 1,791.7 ± 1,499.8 m (n = 6). Average clutch size was 4.2 ± 0.4 (n = 6), nest building
lasted 21.5 ± 9.4 days (n = 4), the incubation period 21.5 ± 9.40 days (n = 4), and the
75
period of parental care 71.0 ± 16.1 days (Parents were feeding their young, on average,
5.1 ± 2.6 (n = 40) times a day. Of all the behaviours of the breeding individuals, activity
budget for resting, feather preening, bill clattering and finding nest material showed
no significant difference among different breeding periods; however, the other activity
budgets differed significantly. Activity budgets of young storks differed significantly
except for staying in the nest, resting and flying among different stages.
The Yellow River Delta is an important stopover site of the Oriental White Storks
in China, and is another nonbreeding ground. In order to collect breeding data of
C. boyciana for effective conservation of the population, we observed the breeding
habits in the Yellow River Delta in 2009, where a total of 21 pairs were breeding at that
time. Storks choose nest sites in early February and began to build nests in mid-late
February. Nests were built on wire poles, artificial standing poles or pylons. In the
Dawenliu nesting area, the average height of nests was 13.3 ± 2.1 m (n = 18) and the
distance between nests 647.2 ± 1,086.5 m (n = 18). In the Huanghekou nest area, the
respective values were 25.5 ± 8.0 m (n = 3) for nest height and 42,640.0 ± 62,838.8 m
(n = 3) for the distance between nests. The earliest hatching date was February 25, but
in disturbed breeding pairs hatching started as late as mid-May. The hatching period
lasted 33.2 ± 1.4 days, and the period of parental care 63.3 ± 6.83 days (n = 12). Parents
fed their nestlings at an average rate of 6.2 ± 2.2 times (n = 68). The earliest and latest
fledging dates were May 28 and August 19, respectively. In only 17 of the 21 breeding
pairs clutches hatched, producing a total number of 47 nestlings of which 37 survived
until fledging. Strong wind was the major factor affecting breeding but disturbance
by visitors and lack of suitable nest sites had an influence too. In order to increase the
breeding rate of the stopover population, it is necessary to provide more standing poles
and consolidate the poles’ bases.
We studied the selection of feeding sites of breeding Oriental White Storks from
March to May 2009 in the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve. 34 and 40 quadrants
were measured in the early and late breeding period, respectively. In all quadrants, 14
variables were analyzed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). The results
indicated that the three highest score variables in the first axis were distance to nest,
vegetation height, and vegetation coverage, and the three highest score variables in the
second axis vegetation density, number of other water birds, and the open water area.
Oriental White Storks foraged mainly in reeds and swamps of restoration areas (70.3%)
in the early breeding period, and mainly in reeds and swamps in non-restoration areas
(32.7%) and surface (30.0%) in the late breeding period. In both periods, vegetation
density, distance to nest and distance to roads showed highly significant differences
(P<0.01), and vegetation height, the distance to settlements and cleanliness significant
differences (0.01<P<0.05). Also, feeding site selection differed between early and late
breeding periods.
76
Based on the analysis of the 463 bp mtDNA D-Loop region, we investigated the
genetic structure and genetic diversity of 66 wild Oriental White Storks from the
Chinese population. Samples were taken from Nenjiang, Honghe, Zhaodong, Jiagedaqi,
Jixi, Momoge, Shengjin Lake, Poyang Lake, Jinzhai, Huaiyuan, Huoqiu, Shucheng,
Lu’an, Yuexi, Quanjiao, Wangjiang, Gaoyou and Yellow River Delta. We classified
the individuals from Nenjiang, Honghe, Zhaodong, Jiagedaqi, Jixi and Momoge as
the northern breeding colony (NC, n = 12) and those from some southern breeding
grounds, Wangjiang, Gaoyou and Yellow River Delta as the southern breeding colony
(SC, n = 10). We analyzed the sequences of 66 storks obtained in this study and data
of further 17 storks (the Japanese population; JP). Among the 463bp comparable se-
quences, 42 nucleotide sites were variable, including 27 transitions, 11 transersions and
4 insertions /obsentations. 37 different haplotypes were detected in 83 samples. The
analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed a significant population subdivision
between two populations (FST =0. 31557 P<0.05). However, the phylogenetic network
revealed that samples from different populations did not form separate clusters. The
Chinese population has a relatively higher genetic diversity than the Japanese popula-
tion, with a haplotype diversity (h) of 0.9529 ± 0.013 and a nucleotide diversity (π)
of 0.01255±0.00674. The high haplotype and low nucleotide diversity of the Chinese
population indicated that possibly in the past a small effective population was increas-
ing rapidly. The neighbor-joining tree (NJ) analysis indicated that the SC colony might
be comprised of descendants of the historical southern breeding population and that
individuals of the northern breeding colony were wintering in the middle and lower
Yangtze River floodplain. This newly arisen southern breeding colony provides an
implication for oriental white stork’s conservation.
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COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PATHOGEN CARRIAGE

Mindaugas DAGYS1 , Daiva VAITKUVIENĖ2,

FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION

Miroslav FULÍN1 , Ján GÚGH2

Eastern Slovakian Museum in Košice, Kośice, Slovakia

THE POPULATION STATUS AND THE NESTING

HPa HPm JZG

Fig. 2. Average number of fledglings from 1994 to 2013

Nathalie GILBERT1 , J. P. SILVA3, C. PACHECO, R. CORREIA1 ,

University of East Anglia, UK:

British Trust for Ornithology

ARE WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA ADDICTED

Çağrı GÖCEK1 , Can C. BILGIN2

WWF- Turkey, İstanbul, Turkey

BREEDING SUCCESS AND NESTLING SURVIVAL

Jan GÚGH, Ferenc PAPP1

Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia, Mlynské nivy 41,

WHITE STORK CICONIA CICONIA TELEMETRY

Jose Manuel HERNÁNDEZ, Ursula HÖFLE

SaBio working group National Institute on game research

USE OF SOUTH-CENTRAL SPANISH LANDFILL SITES

Ursula HÖFLE, Yolanda RAMIRO-RUBIO, Jose Manuel HERNÁNDEZ,

SaBio working group National Institute on game research

WHITE STORKS CICONIA CICONIA AND RUBBISH DUMPS,

The White Stork Research Group

THE INFLUENCE OF WHITE STORKS’