It’s been more than a month since Phoenice, the White Stork, was fitted with a transmitter during the Waterbird Satellite Tracking Camp in Albania. And on June 30th, Phoenice was finally able to leave the nest for the first time – a monumental step for a young stork as it signifies that the fledgling will start foraging on its own from now on.
Phoenice flies daily over 2 kilometers away from its nest in search of food. Its preferred foraging grounds for now include nearby streams, such as the Kalasa River, as well as the agricultural lands nearby. Based on the daily flights, it appears that Phoenice is supplementing its diet which usually consists of small animals that it finds in shallow water or on the ground, such as: insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles and even small mammals and birds.
In a few weeks, Phoenice, along with other storks, will embark on a long and perilous journey to its wintering grounds in Africa. White Storks migrate in large groups that count up to thousands. However, many of them fall victim to illegal shooting and collision with powerlines during this journey.
We wish for Phoenice to have a long and healthy life from which we will learn about the places it will visit, the distances covered, the flight altitudes, etc.
Stay tuned with us for more updates on Phoenice’s journey!
This transmitter was deployed within the frame of the Birds Without Borders – Phase II project funded by the Western Balkans Fund and European Union, under the Call for Regional Project Proposals “Support to the Promotion of Civil Society regional activities in the Western Balkans”.
