22.06.2014 Updates

Link to Live Feed on the right -->

If Romanian add 2 hours to my times to get "camera time" ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** 10:00-10:55 One of the parents is able to sit (with some difficulty) on the chicks and cover & protect them still while a number of rival storks circle around. There seam to be at least 1 or more other nests nearby, as there were at least 2 other storks going through the camera in the background while the 1 parent was with the chicks. As confirmed by a few people watching the live stream at the same time, a foreign stork seams to arrive in the nest at 10:40 and this may explain the parent warding off nearby rivals at the time which would explain for short absence periods from the nest. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** 8:41 Parents exchange places with the new one feeding them what looks like a mouse and a frog. In less then 10 minutes the rested parent leaves and brings back water to feed the chicks. 8:40 Family Reunion (see pic) ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** ********************* ~ 8:00 (GMT) A marching band has passed just seconds ago but only the chicks seamed interested in paying any attention to them while the mother continued cleaning her plumage. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** 7:28 (GMT) The interesting picture of the day shows one of the chicks considering to peck at his mother's leg that looks like a very delicious worm that keeps moving in the air just next to it's beak Between 6:50-7:15 one of the parents brought more foliage for the nest including 2 very large (60cm) sticks which are now visible on the left side ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** Observations: It could be that the beak clapping may also be used to ward off rival / stranger storks from the nest It is harder for the storks to cover and protect the chicks when they pass 2 weeks of age as their size increases significantly if food is provided. After the 2 week mark of age, parents will leave the nest untended for very short periods of time, sometimes to bring water, other times for inconclusive reasons (example a flight of only 15 seconds that happened today, with nothing brought back to explain it)

Snack of the day ?

I was away for a few days and it is very interesting to note that in less than a week the 2 remaining chicks have doubled if not tripped in size, and their parents can now afford to both leave the nest if needed (this has been noted by other followers). Another interesting fact is that they are now to big for the parents to sit on them to keep them secure **************************************************************************************************************************************************** the funny picture of the 17th of June when one of the storks brings back hay and a bag of chips? ********************************************************************************************************************************************************

A summary of beginnings

As I initially kept a record of what is going on I will list it here in the first posting. I will be talking about a nest of white storks I have been following on live feed camera since they layed eggs in May The pair has had 4 chicks – the first born on the 5th of June, 2nd on the 7th of June, 3rd on the 9th of June and 4th on the 10th of June – which was in fact very small by comparison at the time with all the others. ************************  This last one was accepted at first, but after 2 days it was eaten and regurgitated by the mother at 8:24 a.m. (still alive) and 5 hours later the runt was picked up several times (by all indications in an attempt to snap it’s neck) and pushed and thrown toward the edge until it fell down from the nest. One day later (13th June) another chick was thrown from the nest around midday, with no apparent reason (in terms of size he was no different than the other 2 left). The 2nd chick was obviously murdered with a quick neck snap but at least he did not suffer. You can have a look at the remaining chicks and parents here: White Stork Romania Nest