Storks in Oettingen: boom or dirt? The opinions are shared!

Storks in Oettingen: boom or dirt? The opinions are shared!

Oettingen, Deutschland - The city of Oettingen in the Donau-Ries district has developed into the stork capital of Schwaben in recent years. With currently 56 stork nests and an impressive population of 112 storks, the city ensures both amazement and some critical voices. The stork representative Heidi Källner, 84 years old, regularly climbs the St. Jakob church tower on all fours to observe and count the birds. Her passion for the storks began when she saved an injured young stork years ago. Today she documents her observations meticulously and reports to the Landesbund for Vogel and Nature Conservation in Bavaria (LBV) [Augsburg Allgemeine reports that ...] (https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/bayern-stoerche-ueberall-die- voegel-ueberhand-109188243).

In Oettingen, the storks have searched for a variety of nesting places on various buildings. This includes the city pharmacy between others and the Röttgerhaus. A nesting aid is also built on a house roof where stork nests are becoming more and more. The storks not only come to the brood season, some of them even hibernate in West Africa, while others watch in Spain that they can start spring well [Donau-Ries currently reports that …] (Https://www.donau-ries-aktuell.de/spaziergang- through-oettingen-stoerchen-auf-der-pur-oettingen-38579).

a shared home: storks and their neighbors

in Oettingen, however, the high number of storks also leads to resentment among some inhabitants. While many welcome the protected birds and consider it to be tourist magnets, there are also complaints about the dirt that the animals bring with them. Opinions are divided: some residents want more peace and less storks, others appreciate the sight and the associated beauty that the birds bring with them. Other municipalities in Bavaria also feel a similar increase in the stork population and the associated challenges Augsburg general analyzes ....

Heidi Källner describes that some storks even steal nesting material from other nests, which tightens the competition for the best nesting places. In the past, the LBV set nesting aids to support the storks, which led to an astonishing increase in the stork population in the region. Historically, storks were extremely rare and endangered in the region until the 1990s. In 1988 only 116 storks lived all over Bavaria, while the number has currently increased Augsburg general explained that ....

A look at the numbers

Current numbers prove the positive trend of the stork population in Bavaria. More than 1,180 white stork couples were found in 2023, which are also rewarded by local protective measures and programs such as the Weißstork species aid program (AHP WS). This program was launched in the 1980s and contributed significantly to stabilizing the stocks. Since its completion in 2017, the population has been monitored and analyzed. These measures have an effect: Today we have a gratifying increase in the stork stocks Bavarian State Office for the Environment informs that ....

But the challenges remain. The changed food areas, commercial areas and bypasses are troubled by the storks. In addition, local threats such as hail or electric shocks have affected the stock in the past. Despite these risks, the survival rate of the storks is higher because they better adapt to their hibernation areas. Oettingen therefore remains not only an important location for the storks, but also an exciting example of the success of nature conservation measures in Bavaria.