Black Stork ~ Tiit & Tiina ~ 2013

the nest of Black Stork pair Tiina and Tiit.
It is situated in Läänemaa, western Estonia. The nest is known to us since 2009; then three chicks grew up there. The 2010 nesting failed; in July there were only egg shells under the nest. 2011 year four young grew up in the nest; we could watch, with somewhat varying success, their growth. 2012 there were four eggs, three hatched. One injured its beak and had to be taken out of the nest to the veterinary hospital. Unfortunately all attempts to help the storklet failed. Local farmers know the nest site already from the Soviet kolkhoz period: then the nest was a few hundred metres away. The nest is quite far from roads, about 2 kilometres as the crow flies.

Link to camera JWstream: http://pontu.eenet.ee/player/kurg.html
Link to VLC: rtsp://193.40.133.138:80/live/kurg

The nest tree:

2011:
"Üks", "Kaks", "Kolm" (Johanna) and "Neli"

2012:
"Tommy", "Kelly" and ill fated "Lenny"

Facts about the 2013 season:

Tiit arrived on the nest first, on April 16
Tiina arrived on April 18.

5 eggs were laid:

April 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29

Breeding time is (according to Wikipedia) 34 to 38 days and starts usually after the second egg, so hatch watch could be starting around May 27


First hatch: Sunday, May 26

We have five eggs this year, which is a lot. That's why a word of caution is necessary. Storks practise, if they feel not all chicks can grow up, Filial infanticide - please be prepared!

8:30