I had a lovely birthday celebration, and now that my friend has left, am ready to share some photos of the White Stork, taken in the Algarve, in a place called Alvor.
 |
The White Stork Ciconia ciconia |
 |
In Portugal, the stork is a protected species, and almost revered by farmers who appreciate and protect them..... |
 |
as the birds thrive on small mammals, lizards, snakes, and large insects, ... |
 |
which save the farmers having to buy expensive pesticides on their crops. |
 |
The storks often build their nests close to the marshlands or wetlands, where they can feast on frogs, and fish too. |
 |
This field had at least twelve nests, and after having a word with the farmer, we were allowed to photograph them. |
 |
They build their nests up high on tall chimneys, telegraph poles, electricity pylons, church steeples, as well as trees. |
 |
Their nests are a great engineering feat. |
 |
The adult stork reaches a standing height of 80 to 115 cm, and has a wing span of 195 to 215 cm. |
 |
It is in flight that they take on a grace and beauty which belies it's size, as it glides high in the sky with outspread wings. |
 |
I must have stayed in the field a few hours in awe of their size, as I watched them leave, and return to their nests. |
 |
The day was hazy, ...not the best of conditions to take photos, and.... |
 |
We couldn't approach too near because of the chicks, so regretfully I have none to share. |
 |
Their were many storks foraging in the fields. |
 |
They are elegant creatures, even whilst foraging as they walk along at a gentle pace. |
 |
In the past twenty years, storks have begun to stay here all winter, and can be seen all over the south of Portugal. |
SATURDAY'S CRITTERS
I'D-RATHER-B-BIRDIN
41 comments:
Oh my god, awesome photos. These are great.
I love the White Storks, and your photos have done them proud, it would be nice if some of them would make their homes in the UK.
Thank you for looking into my blog and chooseing to follow.
Take care, Gordon.
Beautiful Stork, in flying, standing for you.
Such a fascinating and gorgeous series! I thoroughly enjoy your posts and photos...always. Thank you so much for sharing.
OMG. These photos are so amazing. I like a lot.
we have a few couples in teh south part of Sweden but I have not seen them. Gorgeous shots!
Just brilliant photos today. I am so pleased you showed the storks in their natural landscape like that. I can now understand why people in the Med look forward so much to the storks' spring arrival.
I enjoyed seeing them in Huelva but have never seen one in the UK. Hope it cools for you soon Sonjia.
This is really an excellent series of photos. Great detail on the stork and the nest.
En Alsace, certains nid dépassent les 500 kg !!!
Céline & Philippe
Hi Sonjia, I hope you really enjoyed your birthday break and the pictures are pretty good too. Its even hotter here. Take great care,
Mike.
Must be a great sight to see nesting White Storks........
Amazing photos of the Storks! Really nice to see those.
I did not know that they nested so close to the ground. I had only seen their nests on pylons and on the top of the bridge behind Portimao. Wonderful photographs.
Beautiful shots of storks nesting.
Amazing photos!
I can tell you our American Storks are not beautiful like yours, they are rather plain. your photos are amazing, I love that nest and all those flowing wings. just gorgeous. we are also hot here and staying inside... I am not posting right now, my hubby had a stroke last Saturday, he is ok right now and having surgery tomorrow. we had to wait for his blood thinner to get out of his system... see you later
These photos are amazing Sonjia!!!!! The way you captured them in their nests is like seeing them in National Geographics!!! Lol. I've never seen Whie Storks but they are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing with us.
Las cigüeñas para mí son especiales. En Extremadura hay muchísimas; es nuestro símbolo. Me encantan.
These White Stork shots are splendid indeed. It is an iconically European bird, at least for those of us who do not have the pleasure of seeing it all the time, and really invokes for me a sense of timelessness. I remember seeing reproductions of medieval woodcuts showing storks on top of houses. I don't know whether the association of storks bringing babies still persists, but that too was quite charming in its own way. Stay cool in those abominably hot temperatures.
Excellent pictures..Love the ones showing the bird in flight..Great shots..interesting post..I hope you had a nice birthday and a good time with your friend,
So lovely to see all of these photographs.
I thought you did so well to get them in flight too, lovely to see.
I hope the weather cools a little for you.
Take care
All the best Jan
Good morning Sonjia,
Breathtaking photo's of the Storks.
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
The white stork looks gorgeous and the way marked in black and white is so elegant to check! Indeed, these birds are farmer’s friends and while they keep away the insects and replies away, their poop is a wonderful fertilizer for agriculture.
This is a lovely post on the white storks and their choice of trees for building nest is marvellous. And the trees here support the nests well alike someone holding at their palms :)
Absolutely awesome!!! What incredible images. It was so very kind of the farmer to allow you on his property to get these stunners. Wow.
They're beautiful!!
Thanks so much for sharing this with us at I'd Rather B Birdin' this week.
ooooh goodness, they are just beauties. it must be wonderful to see so many nesting in one field. i don't think i have ever seen on, outside of a zoo, yours are especially beautiful, more beautiful than the ones i remember seeing!!
your captures are amazing!! they are spectacular in flight and you did an amazing job photographing them!!
nice to hear that you had a lovely birthday!!
Hello, happy belated birthday! The storks are beautiful. It is awesome you saw them nesting on this property. Twelve nest is awesome, they are doing well. I could spend some time watching them too. Your flight captures are lovely. Well done. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
What a nest. And what a wingspan!
Such wonderful and beautiful moments!!!They are beautiful!
Great birds - its been a long tome since I have seen any.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Blessed belated birthday to you! The storks are beautiful. Love all the photos, especially those in flight and on the field. Have a lovely day!
Beautiful! Wonderful!
I'm back...
Just coming over again to say:
Thanks again....Sharing with us at I'd Rather B Birdin' is always appreciated.
Glad you had a lovely birthday! And visit with your friend. What amazing stork photos! Really awesome.
...magnificent captures of this beautiful bird, I love the the images in flight. Hoping that the fires are not affecting you, stay safe.
Amazing and creative photography ~ the stork so lovely in flight or not ~ Happy Birthday to you ~ ^_^
Thanks, for stopping by my blog and commenting ~ ^_^
Really beautiful pictures of the stork.
On the nest and in flight you have a good idea of footgrafering this beautiful bird. If it's so hot, we'll stay home too. Fortunately, in the Netherlands, it is sometimes hot :-)
A hug.
I never saw a stork nest before--it is so large and amazing looking! I hope you had a very Happy Birthday! I was also born in June. Best month of the year
Fantastic photos, they are very regal looking birds.
An amazing post and such stunning images. What a beautiful bird the stork is and so graceful in flight.
Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful week :)
These were wonderful. What an amazing bird. Loved the shot with all the nests.
Hi Sonjia. Just catching up after my Scottish holiday.
These are super images of the Stork. How wonderful to be able to see them in this sort of situation.
Your temperatures sound really uncomfortable! I hope it's a bit cooler for you now. We had it very warm for a while here, but it's now become quite cool and rather wet - it's just 13 degrees C here at 09h25, and raining!
With my best wishes - - - Richard
Post a Comment