This weekend, the Stork stork foundation is asking all bird lovers to count storks for the annual winter count. The count should show how many storks winter in North Holland every year.
The annual winter count of storks took place this weekend – NH News
The population of the iconic bird has been monitored for centuries. Together with Engbert van Oort from Stork, we are trying to contribute to the Gooilust estate in ‘s Graveland.
The bird watcher has brought along a yellowed booklet dating from the early 1940s. “It states that in the late 1920s and early 1930s, only three breeding pairs were active in North Holland.” A fraction of the population flying through the province today.
About a hundred stork nests occupied in North Holland
The number of storks has increased significantly since the 1970s. This is mainly because the infamous agricultural poison DDT was banned at the time. Mice, insects, worms and moles celebrated, they could reproduce freely. The stork’s menu grew considerably, suddenly there was more than enough to eat. There are now about a hundred stork nests in North Holland that are occupied by a breeding pair.
“In the winter months it is easier to find food in warmer places”
This weekend’s annual winter count should show how many storks winter in the Netherlands. “Over the past three years, we have been able to determine from the winter counts that fewer remain,” says van Oort. “More of them are migrating. In the winter months it is easier to find food in those warmer places.”
Away from home
Our attempt to spot a few specimens at the Gooilust estate turned out to be fruitless. The stork’s nest, which towers high above the landscape, is abandoned. Van Oort does not immediately have an explanation for this. “They will be looking for food in another place. Eight to nine hundred will be counted nationally this weekend. We certainly won’t see them here.” How many copies were ultimately spotted this weekend will be announced in the coming days.