Two young storks were ringed in Maria Hoop on Saturday. The animals can be monitored through the ring around the leg.
The animals remain very still during their time out of the nest.
Boy from their nest
“They do that as protection. But when they are back in their nest after weighing and measuring, we will immediately start moving again. Their parents who have left the nest will return immediately”, Leo Daanen of Vogelwacht assures the Maasheggen.
Daanen guesses that the animals are about five weeks old. “You can tell by the size of the legs that the ring has to go around. At five weeks the leg is also big enough to put a ring around it.”
Keep an eye out for storks
The rings make it easy to keep an eye on the animals from a distance. “We give the storks rings to see where they are going. The biotope is good for the animals there. If it doesn’t make a nest somewhere, the biotope is not good there and we may have to make some adjustments,” says Dre Gielen of the bird working group .
Importance of nature
About 40 villagers are present to experience the process up close. “We do this to point out to them, but especially the children, how important nature is and how carefully we have to handle it.” According to Gielen, nature films are beautiful, but that is something different from reality. “We will have land that is being worked very intensively by housing and industry. So those small spots of nature are important to preserve.”
Central Limburg good place for storks
According to Gielen, the storks in Limburg are doing well. “There will be piles with nests in more places. There is currently a large group of storks in Central Limburg. There are now about 14 to 16 storks. So it is a very attractive area for the animals.”