The white stork has settled in Ukraine after migrating to Africa
After seven trips to Africa, the bird unexpectedly changed course and stayed in Ukraine. A stork named Zbysia, which had been tracked by European ornithologists, did not return to Poland but settled in the Khmelnytskyi region, where she has already found a mate in one of the villages.
This was reported by the Polish Nature Information Center on its Facebook page.
As it turned out, foreign experts recorded the stop using a GPS tracker and asked Ukrainian activists to check on the traveler’s condition. Researchers who traveled to the site confirmed: Zbysia is doing just fine. She didn’t just stop for a rest, but has fully settled in the village of Dovzhky, Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
For the scientific community, this change of “residence” came as a real surprise, since these birds are usually conservative in their choice of nesting sites.
"I didn’t expect this turn of events at all. Our Zbysya arrived in the Rivne area nine days ago. Since she made regular stops throughout her entire journey from Africa, I thought she would do the same this time. Meanwhile, the bird is in the middle of a populated area, and zooming in on the map reveals a nest on a power line," shares Marcin Sliwiński, founder of the Nature Information Center.
According to the director, Zbysia is an experienced traveler who is now on her seventh migration with a transmitter. She was banded as an adult in the Olshanka area. Since then, she has chosen new locations every year, but has never stayed in Ukraine for the breeding season.
"Last year she didn’t have any chicks... I thought that this time Zbysia would return and begin breeding in one of the nests she knows. Meanwhile, everything indicates that we have an international pair that will likely raise their young in Ukraine," wrote the Polish expert.
Ornithologists add that in Poland, the stork is considered a symbol of a safe return home. The fact that the bird chose Ukraine right now, scientists say, is a good sign for both nations.
In the Poltava region, the stork Odarka returned to her nest and attacked Lel and Kvitka.
Storks have begun returning to the Chernobyl zone.
Also, Ukraine’s smallest owl has settled in the Chernobyl Nature Reserve.
