White storks are increasingly feeding at landfills: scientists have warned of the danger
White storks, which are increasingly foraging at landfills, have quick access to high-calorie food, but such a diet may negatively affect their health. This is the conclusion reached by European researchers studying changes in the behavior of these birds.
According to the scientists, municipal landfills have become an easily accessible food source for storks, allowing them to gain weight more quickly, expend less energy searching for food, and raise their young more successfully.
This is likely one of the factors behind the recovery of the white stork population, which was on the verge of extinction just a few decades ago.
At the same time, long-term consumption of food waste can have serious consequences for the birds’ health.
Researchers note that white storks used to make seasonal migrations between Europe and Africa, but in recent years, some populations have changed their habits due to constant access to food at landfills.
At landfills, the birds find scraps of human food, meat, insects, rodents, and earthworms, but in the process, they come into contact with plastic, glass, metal, and other hazardous waste, which can negatively affect their health.
Scientists studied populations of white storks in Poland, where in recent years the birds have been visiting landfills much more frequently.
Preliminary results showed that storks that regularly forage at landfills have a higher body mass and greater energy reserves than those that forage exclusively in natural habitats.
One of the study’s authors, Anustup Bandopadhyay, a doctoral student at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, explained that these birds spend less time searching for food and use the energy they save, in particular, for breeding.
According to him, storks most often visit landfills in the middle of the breeding season, when chicks need the most food.
Despite the short-term benefits, researchers have already identified alarming signs of the impact of such a diet.
In particular, DNA damage was observed in chicks about a week old, which scientists attribute to feeding at landfills.
Experts also suggest that constant access to food may alter the storks’ migratory behavior. Similar changes are already being observed on the Iberian Peninsula, where some populations have stopped making long-distance flights.
Aldina Franco, a professor of ecology at the University of East Anglia, compared food from landfills to fast food.
“It’s food that’s decomposing; it’s of low quality but high in energy. Storks can find leftover steaks, fish, and any other food that people throw away,” she explained.
At the same time, the expert noted that the situation is not clear-cut: individual birds may die from toxins or infections, but for the population as a whole, this additional food source currently does more good than harm.
According to scientists, the gradual closure of open landfills in European Union countries could pose a new challenge, as it will limit wild birds’ access to organic waste.
This could affect the population size, breeding success, and migratory behavior of storks, which have already adapted to this feeding method.
“On the one hand, we enjoy feeding the birds in our own gardens. On the other hand, organic waste in landfills is a resource that we no longer use. This raises the question: shouldn’t we allow certain species to make use of it?” noted Aldina Franco.
She also pointed out that until the 1980s, the white stork population in Europe was declining rapidly, and in some countries, the species had to be reintroduced through artificial means.
“If we completely deprive storks of access to organic waste, won’t their numbers start to decline again? In my opinion, this risk exists, and it must be taken into account,” the ecologist concluded.
As a reminder, storks—one of Ukraine’s most revered birds—are beginning to return to the Chernobyl zone, heralding the arrival of spring.
