Sometimes there are things just too exciting not to share right away. My friend ‘R’ sent me a link to a video that the two engineers that took care of the White Stork family prepared and I want to share it with you.
For those that do now know the story, here is a little background first. Bucachek and his mate, Barunka, have their nest in Mlade Buky, Czech Republic. In the spring they had four storklings hatch. Sadly, Barunka was killed when she stepped on the electric transmission lines. Two engineers in the community of Mlade Buky, Sandor Harvan and Jiri Zeman, fed Father Stork, Bucachek, and also fed the little ones fish many times a day so that they would live and thrive. After awhile, the men fed Bucachek only and he fed the storklings. They were then older and the community did not wish to scare them so they would fly off the nest. Bucachek eliminated the smallest chick as many storks do. The three grew and grew, eventually fledgling on 18-19 July. Sadly Bonifac was also killed when he landed on a high voltage line. That was on 29 July. The two surviving storklings, Pantrac and Servac, have left the nest. They are fine and preparing for their first migration.
So, that takes us back to the bachelor Bucachek. Bucachek has found a new love! The pair are bonding and working on the nest before they both part to travel thousands and thousands of miles to winter in the southern parts of Africa. They are optimistic. As I was watching the video it felt good to see the birds planning for the future. The news on the television can be so discouraging – so I hope that Bucachek and his new love will brighten your day!
Have a look:
I want to thank Sandor Harvan and Jiri Zeman first for their kindness to this stork family. I hope that they are truly blessed for caring for these beautiful birds. Secondly, for taking the time to set up the streaming cam so that we could share in the life of this family as it struggled after the loss of the female.
This is the link to the streaming cam where I took my screen shot. You can also look under Mlade Buky to find individual videos highlighting events on the White Stork Nest.
And thanks to all of you for joining me. Take care and see you soon.
The featured image is of Buckacek around 5am 7 August 2021 on the nest alone.
Thank you Mary Ann for the updates on the stork family. So glad the father stork has found a new mate and hope to see them next season.
Have a great night! Linda
Oh, thank you, Linda. I was so excited. He was such a great dad with those little ones! He deserves a new mate. I hope they both make their migration and return to one another. Something to look forward to.
Can’t wildlife be protected from these deadly transmission lines?
It is an enormous problem around the world. Where I am tonight, the hydro lines were built differently and there is no way that a bird could be electrocuted but, we say with Junior and Malala that it takes one wrong step and a promising fledgling eagle dies. It happens in Canada, in the US, etc. there are actually simple solutions, Eileen. Dr Christian Sasse discussed some of these on a YouTube video on this very topic. Simple and inexpensive. The real solution is to make the bars and the connections 7 feet apart. The tips of the wings of the eagles cannot touch these. In Latvia a law was passed that all hydro poles must be safe for birds by 2024. It was passed many years ago and the company waited until now to start the work. I do not know about The Czech Republic. But many countries are now having to deal with this issue. Our public utility company in Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, was called out by the public for ospreys being electrocuted so they fixed the poles. They were called out by me and a group protesting the cutting of trees where there was an active raptor nest. They now only do the tree cutting in non-nest times when the raptors are in their winter homes. So it can happen but the public must put pressure on those who have the power to do something.
Hi Mary Ann, thank you for sharing this wonderful story! I just wanted to let you know that Czechoslovakia doesn’t exist anymore since 1993 and separated into Czech Republic and Slovakia. Mladé Buky is now a
town in the Czech Republic 🙂
Well, that is a real blunder. Thank you. I will slowly go through these and fix that. Much appreciated.
Hi Daria,
Thank you again! I am weeding my way through and correcting. But, yes, it is a beautiful love story – and a great story because of the kindness to Father Stork and his storklets so that they could live and thrive. Blessings to everyone in Mlade Buky, Czech Republic.