The UK has its very first 'stork village'
Have you ever seen a stork before?No, they aren't just made-up creatures delivering babies around the world! In fact storks, known for their white feathers and super-long orange beaks, were breeding birds commonly found in Britain once upon a time. But the giant birds became extinct here more than 600 years ago, with human activities affecting their habitat and causing their numbers to fall.Now the storks have returned thanks to a conservation project, with the town of Storrington in West Sussex and the nearby Knepp estate being named a 'European stork village'.
It's a big deal as Storrington and Knepp are now part of a group made up of 15 other villages across Europe which have been recognised for the work they are doing to protect storks and limit the impact of habitat loss on the birds. "We're the first place in the UK to be named a European Stork Village and we're really proud and excited to be working with brilliant conservation organisations and communities across Europe," Laura Vaughan-Hirsch who is the project manager for the White Stork Project told Newsround. The White Stork Project began back in 2016 with a group of white storks that could no longer fly. These birds were brought over from Poland and kept in a huge enclosure to protect them. The space had everything they need, including a pond and a meadow for them to forage for food.
"White storks need quality habitat, including clean water and lots of insects which they eat," Laura explained. "Protecting white storks means improving the quality of habitat, which benefits many different species."More birds which had been bred in the UK were eventually sent to Knepp, adding to the number of storks. After getting used to their surroundings, these birds were released and are able to fly around freely.
The end of 2024 saw an impressive 27 nests from breeding pairs of storks. These came from both free-flying birds which made their nests in mature oak trees and non-flying birds which make their nests on the ground.In total 53 stork chicks were born from those nests, double the number from the year before. "White storks are a large charismatic bird that you don't need a fancy pair of binoculars or an expensive camera to see."We hope they draw more people into thinking about nature," Laura says. "We also hope the stork will help communities to connect with each other, not just across counties in the UK, but over counties and even continents."
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Storks born in England have successfully returned home after migrating to White Stork Project, launched in 2016, releases young storks at the Knepp estate in West Sussex and Wadhurst Park in East Sussex to encourage the birds to later return there to least six birds born at Knepp in 2024 returned to nest in the colony, including one who has set up home in the same tree as her parents, according to project officer Laura estate owner Isabella Tree said the estate's storks were "interacting with wild birds and bringing wild birds back with them as pairs". Storks stopped breeding in Britain centuries ago due to hunting and habitat now living at Knepp had given birth to more than a dozen fledglings by May and about 40 more were expected in 2025. The project began reintroducing storks to southern England in 2016 by taking on rescued, non-flying birds from Warsaw Zoo, in Poland, breeding them at Cotswold Wildlife Park, then releasing their young in Polish storks, some of which have injuries that mean they can fly short distances but not migrate, live in or around a fox-proof enclosure at Knepp, breeding and establishing the founding colonies that will attract other ground-nesting storks are hand-fed pieces of fish to supplement food their parents can source in the storks' success at Knepp showed that "sort the habitat out, the soils, insects, healthy water systems, and then your storks will come eventually," Ms Vaughan-Hirsch said."We all see the white stork as a big charismatic species but what it really is, is an emblem for nature recovery."The landscape at Knepp has undergone rewilding since 2000, converting agricultural land into scrub, disturbed ground and are also areas of woodland, the nearby river has been restored to a more natural state, and reintroduced beavers in an enclosure have turned a small stream into insect-filled Tree added: "What are we are seeing is that even species that don't have a reputation as being keystone species have an effect on ecosystems."They are doing extraordinary things that we had never really known about." Additional reporting by PA Media.
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The birds could once be seen in Britain's skies and building their huge nests on roofs and buildings as well as trees, but disappeared centuries ago as a breeding bird due to hunting and habitat loss. While migratory storks still visit from the continent, conservationists say they need security of numbers and the absence of existing colonies mean they do not settle to breed. So since 2016, a reintroduction project in southern England has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured storks, which can act as a 'magnet' to draw in other wild birds. The scheme has enabled a wild population of breeding storks re-establish itself for the first time in centuries and delivered unexpected benefits for other birds and wildlife, conservationists say. 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There are also areas of woodland, the river has been restored to a more natural state and in just a few years, beavers in an enclosure have turned a small stream into wetlands rich in dragonflies, damselflies and other insects. Walking through the scrub and grassland punctuated by large trees, it is hard to miss the metre-tall storks soaring through the skies or stalking through the grass, while the distinctive bill 'clattering' they make echoes through the landscape. White stork project officer Laura Vaughan-Hirsch said they 'love it' at Knepp, where the rewilding process has created healthy soils and habitat and an abundance and diversity of insect life. While they are primarily wetland birds, 'they love mixed habitats, grasslands, woodlands and lovely big trees to nest in, anything that's insect-rich, worm-rich, that's their thing', she said. The first chicks were born to birds nesting in the trees in 2020, and non-flying storks produced their first young in ground nests in the fox-proof enclosure in 2023. This year Ms Vaughan-Hirsch said at least six birds born at Knepp have returned after an annual migration to Africa to nest in the colony, including one who has set up home in the same tree as her parents, and has been stealing nesting material from them. The team are expecting around 40 fledglings in 2025, including youngsters from the ground-nesting storks which are hand-fed pieces of fish to supplement food their parents can source in the pen. The storks' success at Knepp shows that 'sort the habitat out, the soils, insects, healthy water systems, and then your storks will come eventually,' she said. 'We all see the white stork as a big charismatic species but what it really is, is an emblem for nature recovery,' she said. With each chick needing 35kg of food, such as crickets or worms, between hatching and fledging, their survival in the landscape is an indicator of how healthy the ecosystem is. And in turn the storks' nests – which can weigh up to a tonne – in trees or even on roofs attract an array of insects, while wrens, collared doves, house sparrows and, this year for the first time, blue tits have been seen nesting in the vast structures. Isabella Tree, who owns Knepp with her husband Charlie Burrell, said their impact on other species was an 'unexpected outcome' of the reintroduction. 'What are we are seeing is that even species that don't have a reputation as being keystone species have an effect on ecosystems. 'They are doing extraordinary things that we had never really known about.' And she said: 'We think we know what impact a species will have on the landscape, but how can we when our landscape is so fragmented and so depleted. The only way to find out is to try it.' It is ever more important as climate change pushes species to find new habitat to boost populations of even birds with naturally big ranges, she suggests. She said the scheme had naysayers in the beginning – including conservationists who did not think it should be attempted or would work. But she said: 'The absolute joy and excitement is that they are now flying to Morocco on migration and coming back and nesting and having chicks and interacting with wild birds and bringing wild birds back with them as pairs.' And the storks are a 'totem' for wider river catchment restoration and a way of connecting people with nature, she said. 'We have such a long relationship with these birds, from thousands of years ago, from Egyptians, and ancient Greeks and ancient Islam these birds have been cherished, and they're somehow in our DNA. 'We recognise ourselves in them, they kind of walk like us, they look like brigadiers on a parade ground when they're walking across the fields, and when they're flying they look like pterodactyls,' she said. Further projects to reintroduce storks are under way in Cornwall and Devon. And at Knepp it is hoped the birds will spread out from the estate and start nesting away from the current colony, raising the possibility that, in some areas at least, they will become a familiar sight in the skies, trees and on rooftops again.
