A Tale About Storks – part 3
Exchanging stork info with one of my neighbours - a retired nurse with all the time in the world to go birdwatching every day - I learned of a brand new nesting pole that had been put up in a meadow behind our apartment block last winter. Huh, a new one?, I asked. There? How odd. As I had gone through the news article about the removed pole at Deurze more properly by this time, I was rather confused by her news about this new pole in our backyard.
In short, the State Forestry Commission had decided against replacing this favourite nesting pole of mine because storks in the Netherlands are doing só well that many of them are now following their natural behaviour by nesting in trees. Proving the case, a whole colony of tree-nesting storks has established itself at Oudemolen, a village some 10 km northeast of here, and The Forestry Commission expected the storks around Deurze to follow suit. Hence no more new nesting poles.
Why on earth a new nesting pole was erected at my backdoor, was therefore totally beyond me. Cynically raising our eyebrows at this typical example of unfathomable Dutch logic, my neighbour continued with her instructions on where in Deurze village I could find this rooftop nest I’d been looking for the other day.
Picking the next bright and sunny day, I set off on my bike to check out the new nesting pole, and following from there, the rooftop nest in the village nearby. Cycling through the beautiful landscape here is a real blessing on a day like this, as my route falls mostly within the boundaries of the Nationaal Park Drentsche Aa. Covering some 10,000 hectares, and named after the only Dutch brook of any size that has (largely) retained its original meandering course, the national park offers Western Europe's best-preserved stream and esdorp landscape. If you ever come this way, it is well worth a visit. Stream valleys carved out by melting ice waters thousands of years ago, habitats nurturing many a special plant and animal, picturesque ancient villages, lots of prehistoric monuments, and of course, plenty of storks in April.
Checking out the newly erected nesting pole only took a minute. Situated ironically close to the cycling track, it will offer a fantastic good look at the birds once it becomes occupied. Locating next the rooftop nest in Deurze village proved to be fairly easy. Admonishing myself for not having properly ‘scrutinized every roof’ the first time I was there, I happily stared at it through my binoculars. There it was, clearly visible at the far end of a thatched roof, with two birds on the nest. My first ever stork’s nest on top of a roof!
Happy and content I cycled home. My next excursion, I decided, would be to discover this colony of tree-nesting storks in Oudemolen. A whole colony of them! Didn’t know they bred in colonies, to be honest. The idea alone had never even crossed my mind before. A whole muster of storks in amongst the trees. Now wouldn’t that be some sight to behold?
To be continued …
Exchanging stork info with one of my neighbours - a retired nurse with all the time in the world to go birdwatching every day - I learned of a brand new nesting pole that had been put up in a meadow behind our apartment block last winter. Huh, a new one?, I asked. There? How odd. As I had gone through the news article about the removed pole at Deurze more properly by this time, I was rather confused by her news about this new pole in our backyard.
In short, the State Forestry Commission had decided against replacing this favourite nesting pole of mine because storks in the Netherlands are doing só well that many of them are now following their natural behaviour by nesting in trees. Proving the case, a whole colony of tree-nesting storks has established itself at Oudemolen, a village some 10 km northeast of here, and The Forestry Commission expected the storks around Deurze to follow suit. Hence no more new nesting poles.
Why on earth a new nesting pole was erected at my backdoor, was therefore totally beyond me. Cynically raising our eyebrows at this typical example of unfathomable Dutch logic, my neighbour continued with her instructions on where in Deurze village I could find this rooftop nest I’d been looking for the other day.
Picking the next bright and sunny day, I set off on my bike to check out the new nesting pole, and following from there, the rooftop nest in the village nearby. Cycling through the beautiful landscape here is a real blessing on a day like this, as my route falls mostly within the boundaries of the Nationaal Park Drentsche Aa. Covering some 10,000 hectares, and named after the only Dutch brook of any size that has (largely) retained its original meandering course, the national park offers Western Europe's best-preserved stream and esdorp landscape. If you ever come this way, it is well worth a visit. Stream valleys carved out by melting ice waters thousands of years ago, habitats nurturing many a special plant and animal, picturesque ancient villages, lots of prehistoric monuments, and of course, plenty of storks in April.
Checking out the newly erected nesting pole only took a minute. Situated ironically close to the cycling track, it will offer a fantastic good look at the birds once it becomes occupied. Locating next the rooftop nest in Deurze village proved to be fairly easy. Admonishing myself for not having properly ‘scrutinized every roof’ the first time I was there, I happily stared at it through my binoculars. There it was, clearly visible at the far end of a thatched roof, with two birds on the nest. My first ever stork’s nest on top of a roof!
Happy and content I cycled home. My next excursion, I decided, would be to discover this colony of tree-nesting storks in Oudemolen. A whole colony of them! Didn’t know they bred in colonies, to be honest. The idea alone had never even crossed my mind before. A whole muster of storks in amongst the trees. Now wouldn’t that be some sight to behold?
To be continued …
