A black stork chick was kidnapped from its nest in the Notecka Forest. The young were alone in the nest when a hawk attacked them. The predator made several attacks on the nest, and finally achieved its goal – it captured one of the chicks. The whole situation was recorded by a camera that broadcasts the life of the stork family.
black stork (Ciconia nigra) is the opposite of its white cousin. Instead of accompanying people, it nests deep in the forest, usually on old oaks. In Poland, this species is legally protected, but as the stork family from the Notecka Forest found out, legal protection does not protect it against all dangers.
The predator may return
The Eagle Protection Committee and the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Poznań informed about the case. In the nest in the Notecka Forest (in the Sieraków Forest District) there were four stork chicks aged 16-20 days. On Wednesday noon, the parents moved away from the nest to get food for the young. When the chicks were left alone, a hawk attacked the nest. The predator attacked three times until it achieved its goal and one of the cubs was kidnapped. The attack was lightning fast, and everything happened in front of the eyes of Internet users, RDLP reported.
– The hawk, unfortunately for the stork family, may return – foresters reported on social media. – Unfortunately, there is no way to protect the socket against its attacks. We keep our fingers crossed that this situation will not happen again. Such an event is part of the wild nature, where there is a constant relationship between predators and prey every day. We have no say in these relations,” they wrote.
What threatens storks
Sebastian Wręga, a volunteer from the Eagle Protection Committee, told TVN24 that the same hawk probably stole a chick from another nest despite the presence of an adult bird.
– Martens, hawks are predators that threaten these birds. You can still defend yourself against the marten, but the hawk is a very efficient predator and there are no strong ones against it. Reports show that the hawk population is declining. The fact that we can observe such attacks is due to the fact that we have more cameras. In human terms, it’s a shame for such a chick that becomes dinner, but the hawk also has its chicks that it needs to feed – he said.
TVN24, RDLP Poznań, State Forests
Main photo source: Eagle Protection Committee