For the third year, the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest/ Kalloni EIC organised the ringing of young White Storks at their nest sites. The action aims to contribute to the knowledge about the wetlands and their birds and raise awareness about them.
This year was relatively successful for the nest that produced young, and we had 12 chicks in total. The nest in Dafia village was found without any chick. The people we talked to in the square informed us that the eggs had hatched, and the chicks were heard for a few days. Possible explanations for this failure could be the severe rainfall that followed, probably finding the chicks at a sensitive stage (unlike the other nests) or the parents' inexperience.
The nests that could be reached were located in Kalloni, Dafia and Papiana villages. The fourth nest was near the Agia Paraskevi conjunction, close to the kalloni Salt Pans. The number of ringed chicks was 9 in 2022 and 12 in 2021.
Besides the surprise of the "empty nest", this year's ringing session had another unexpected incidence: one chick was found with one of its legs injured as it was tangled in plastic threads within the nesting material. The bird was given first aid and then transferred to Athens at the special rehabilitation hospital of ΑΝΙΜΑ.
Chicks are ringed at a certain age when fully grown but can still fly away from their nest. Scientists approach the nest with a crane, transfer the chicks to the ground for a short period to take some measurements (weight, wing length, bill length, etc.) and place the plastic rings on the tarsus of each one of them.
The Greek ELSA rings for White Storks are black with white engravings. The goal is to have the ring seen and read when the bird travels away to other places during its migration, which can give helpful information about its biology and ecology.
The action took place under the auspices of the Hellenic Bird Ringing Center (HBRC) and the crucial support of the Ηellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. and the local Head Mr Patrakis. Finally with the help of the local Police Station that controlled the road traffic by the busy Kalloni square.
