2016

Low Precipitation - Unfavourable for Black Storks

In 2016, JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM) in cooperation with the Nature Conservation Agency carried out yearly breeding success monitoring of specially protected bird species – the black stork. The first conclusions – low precipitation has a negative effect on black stork breeding and nesting success.

Initial analysis of observation data shows that an overall number of hatched juvenile is significantly lower than in the previous year, and this season has been unfortunate for black storks. Although many nests were populated and adult birds lived in its neighborhood, the number of hatched juveniles still remained low.

In general, it can be explained by this season’s climate. With minimal regional differences, all-in-all, there was minimal precipitation in spring and summer in Latvia. Many little rivers, streams, and ponds dried out; thereby, fish and frogs living in these water bodies died, and they are one of the main food resources for storks. Poor food possibilities directly affected chances of feeding the juvenile, and subsequently – the nesting success.

Uģis Bergmanis, LVM Senior Environmental Expert, said that there was no reason for concern - unless unfortunate black stork nesting becomes a regular feature, in long term, it does not leave a negative effect on the population. “We will continue to follow the population of these mysterious birds in state forests and, if necessary, we will also implement support measures. For example – build nests, where black storks would like to live in”, tells Uģis Bergmanis.

Six out of twenty-four nests specially designed by certified bird experts were successfully populated. This year, in state forests seven yet undiscovered nests of black storks were found.

Within the monitoring framework, 280 black stork nesting sites were inspected in Latvia’s state forests, defining the population and breeding success.