One of my favourite birds when in Europe is the White Stork!
Being able to see their huge nests in every village, every farm, on rooftops, electricity poles & telecomms mast is so pleasing. To think that people put themselves out to engage with these fantastic birds is fantastic.
To the Polish people Storks are a symbol of good luck, their arrival in spring heralds the onset of spring which, after the long, dark Polish winter is no small thing!
So I've photographed these birds from many angles and in many poses.
This was my second visit to Poland and I stressed to our guide that I wanted to return to the Pentowo Stork Village at Tykocin as I will always hold a special memory for the rather shaky tower that overlooked about 20 nests in a rejuvenated farm complex. This tower has fortunately been renovated and it felt safe and secure and yet still overlooked lots of nests, with over 20 being visible.
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| Tower viewing platform at Pentowo |
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| View from the top |
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A classic village scene with storks nesting along the road
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| Storks nest on street light in centre of village | |
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In the Biebrza marshes area white storks were very common and we watched them in flight, resting & preening in the marshes and sat on or flying to numerous nests.
I don't think it'll be long before we regularly see wild White Storks in Cornwall as I know that they've recently bred in the county as part of a rewilding project. I look forward to that time!
Here are lots of images all taken during our Poland trip in May 2024. I hope you enjoy looking at them....
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Incoming to the nest
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| Incoming to the nest |
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Just being greeted
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| Just being greeted |
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Nests on either end of an old barn
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Storks in flight
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| Stork in flight |
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| The church square in Tykocin |
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Lost in Tykocin
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