White Stork Ciconia ciconia [Linnaeus, 1758]
White Stork C.c. ciconia
(Vagrant & re-introduced resident)
- One, adult ♀, 20th-21st, 23rd-25th Sep. 2019 (Martin Maill (photo), N.R. Milbourne, K. Williams et al.)
White Stork Ciconia ciconia, Bell’s Bush © Nigel Milbourne 2019
A birder at Chew Valley Lake rang me late in the afternoon of 20th September to say there was a White Stork flying west towards Blagdon. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at home at the time, but I managed to get to the lake just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Fishery Ranger Martin Maill stopped me and told me he’d seen a strange bird at the Top End some 45 minutes earlier and showed me a photograph he’d taken with his phone. It was the White Stork I had gone to look for! I drove along the south side road hoping the bird was still there, and sure enough, it was standing in the corner of the meadow at Bells Bush. I rang a couple of local birders who I thought might get to the lake before darkness fell and took some photos myself from the road. It was apparently wearing a ring on its left leg and Mark Hynam was able to read it as Blue GB58. This meant it was from the re-introduction scheme, so far as we know, and I await details of its provenance.
This is the first record of this species to be seen at Blagdon, but if the re-introduction scheme is successful, hopefully it won’t be the last.
Bibliography (sources of information)