Sunday 19 April 2015

A Bird In Love

During our walk last Sunday (see previous post for pictures), my sister and I came across a bird we were not able to identify instantly. It was about the size of a magpie:



The next day, Monday, I was working from home and spent my lunchbreak at my parents'. I told my Mum about the unknown bird, and she let me have a look for it in one of her reference books. After a few moments, it was obvious that what we had seen was a Wacholderdrossel (fieldfare; Turdus pilaris). A good example of how books are still very helpful in those instances where I wouldn't have known what to look for on the internet!

Still on that Sunday walk, we witnessed a love drama of the avian kind:

There is a large, walk-through aviary in the palace grounds. Among many other species of birds (such as ibis - once a sacred bird in Ancient Egypt -, flamingo and various exotic ducks), a small group of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) live there. 
For centuries, white storks were common in Germany, especially in rural areas. But along with the draining of wetlands, renovating old farm houses and generally destroying of natural habitat, they have become more and more rare, especially in our heavily industrialized part of the country.
Imagine our surprise when we suddenly saw a large bird fly above us - and it was definitely not a heron (we get to see those relatively often). My sister said it was a stork, and she was right. I was of course way too slow with the camera, but we hoped he'd be back.

And sure enough, as we kept walking, we saw him again. This time, we managed to follow where he was going, and spotted him high up on the roof of the aviary, where he had built a nest.
But...
...he was on his own, and started the typical behaviour of a stork calling his or her partner to the nest. Only that his partner was unable to follow the alluring call of this attractive male, who had so nicely set up a nest for their future family: Miss Stork, the object of his love, lives inside the aviary. She can't get out and he can't get in.



I felt (and still do feel) so sorry for this unhappy couple, destined to never be together, always separated by the mesh of the aviary!

When I told RJ on the phone later that evening, he suggested I send the palace grounds administration an email. Maybe they could get the wild stork in somehow, or they could let Miss Stork out - she wouldn't go far, with the nest being right there on top of the aviary. 
But I guess the people who take care of the birds know of the drama already, and maybe they have been thinking about what can be done to solve the problem. Then again - maybe they won't do anything about it, hoping the stork in love will eventually give up and find another nice lady stork, one who is free to follow him to whereever he chooses to build his next home.

From what I have read about storks, I know they are monogamously, but not necessarily with the same partner for life. They do try, though, to stick to the same nesting place for many years. So, who knows how and if this drama will be solved.

19 comments:

  1. Much as I do enjoy seeing birds in aviaries that I would never otherwise see I am very torn. One of the most awful sights that has haunted me for years was a Condor in a cage. No bird such as that can ever live satisfactorily caged and, in this case, the other side of the world from his home in the Andes. The Fieldfare is a strikingly good example. Usually when one sees a flock of them they don't stand out so well.

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    1. A Condor in a cage, that sounds awful indeed :-( Like you, I enjoy looking at animals that I'd never be able to see otherwise, but I always have mixed feelings about zoos and aviaries. For smaller birds, the one in Ludwigsburg looks very much alright; they have a vast area to live in, but the bigger ones simply need much more space than we can ever provide them with inside such a structure.

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  2. Meike, couldn't you go,at dead of night, with a small saw, and let the stork out?? Like Graham, I hate to see birds in cages.

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    1. Hmm... two problems: 1. I don't think I'd be able to saw through the metal, 2. I usually am fast asleep at the dead of night.
      I am actually amazed that this story has not yet been picked up by the local paper. Maybe I should re-write my post in German and send it to them.

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    2. Oh yes, do that!!!!!!

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    3. I agree. It would make a good story and then there would be lots of people rooting for a happy ending.

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    4. I've sent the story to the paper last night. My Mum will keep an eye on the "letters" section in the paper as well as those pages dedicated to local news and stories.

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  3. What a sad love story! I think your idea of writing it up in German and sending it to a local paper is excellent. Let us know what happens "in the fullness of time". Another person whose blog I read is confronting the mystery of a caged crow in a vineyard where he walks his dog. The birds don't seem to be faring too well with human intervention these days.

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    1. Poor crow! Poor any bird that is forced to live in a cage, actually. I wonder whether it is not quite as bad for those who are already bred in captivity, such as budgies and canaries.

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  4. I've just sent the storky story to our local paper. No idea whether they'll publish anything, but if they do, my Mum will see it, and we'll keep you posted.

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  5. May we call the male stork Helmut after Helmut Kohl and the lady stork can be Katarina after the famous German skater - Katarina Witt. It will be a feature film - a tale of thwarted love - and Hollywood will go wild about it.

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    1. Neither Herr Kohl nor Frau Witt are among my favourite Germans, I'm afraid, how about Hans and Lieselotte? These are nice names, and Hans can call his sweetheart "Lilo" in tender moments.

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    2. Okay...Hans and Lieselotte and playing the part of the avian zookeeper will be Frau Riley in her wellington boots.

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  6. Can only hope the love story gets a Happy Ending one way or another! :)

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  7. Awww, poor lovesick stork! I hope he gets his true love. :-)

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  8. oh, that is a sad story, even though they are only storks! I hope that the people in the aviary can do something.

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