Störche Vienna

The two stork species breeding in central Europe could hardly differ more in their way of life, and in the field they are not confused. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is one of the most conspicuous large birds of the farmed landscape, with a body length of around 100 to 115 centimetres and a wingspan of about 200 to 220 centimetres. Its white plumage with black flight feathers, the long red bill and the red legs make it unmistakable. The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is somewhat smaller, almost entirely black with a metallic green sheen and only the belly and undertail coverts white; bill and legs are red.

The white stork inhabits open to semi-open farmed landscapes and favours extensive wet river floodplains and meadows under extensive grassland use. It feeds on voles, earthworms, insects, amphibians and small reptiles and prefers to nest on raised, open structures such as roofs, chimneys, church towers, power poles or dedicated nesting platforms. Its population history in Germany is dramatic: around 9,000 breeding pairs were counted in 1934, but a survey in 1988 found only 2,949 pairs. Since then the population has recovered steadily; recent surveys list more than 12,000 breeding pairs in Germany, with the stronghold in the north-eastern lowlands. Long-term conservation programmes with rewetting of grassland, protection of river floodplains, safeguarding of feeding habitats and the installation of artificial nest platforms have carried much of this recovery.

The black stork lives in the opposite direction. It is tied to large, undisturbed, old-timber-rich deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests with enclosed streams, marshes, forest ponds and oxbows that serve as feeding waters. Continuous forest blocks of at least 100 hectares are typically required, and nests are usually placed in strong veteran trees with a free flight approach. By the start of the twentieth century the black stork had almost disappeared from central Europe through direct persecution and changes in forestry. From the 1980s onwards it has been returning to large parts of Germany, supported by a more natural forestry approach and targeted protection measures. This recovery is fragile: the black stork reacts highly sensitively to forestry interventions in the immediate area of the nest, to new forest tracks, timber operations and recreational use during the breeding season from March to August. Even changes to the character of the forest within roughly one hundred metres around the nest can lead to nest abandonment.

In practice, protection is delivered through nest protection zones: an inner zone of typically 100 metres around the nest is kept largely free of forestry interventions and disturbance throughout the year, while an extended zone of about 300 metres carries additional restrictions during the breeding season. These provisions are carried jointly by forest administrations, nature conservation authorities and associations such as LBV and NABU. For you in the hunting district this means: anyone who knows or suspects an occupied nest should consistently keep hides, timber extraction and routine walks outside the protection zone during the breeding season and coordinate with the responsible forest or nature conservation authority. Both stork species are strictly protected under federal nature conservation law and carry no hunting season; they are protected all year. In your district storks are therefore birds that you support as an observer, with habitat-level measures such as the preservation of old-growth islands, wet meadows and natural stream sections.