Latest news with #whitestorks
Telegraph
04-08-2025
- General
- Telegraph
White storks could return to London for the first time in centuries
Long-vanished white storks could return to London for the first time in hundreds of years. The public is being asked for views on the potential return of the birds to the capital, as part of a project to see if they could make a home there. White storks have been reintroduced in southern England, leading to an 'explosion' in sightings across Greater London in recent years. Now conservationists are looking at whether the metre-tall birds, which are known to thrive in urban settings on the continent, could do the same in London. White storks could once be seen flying in Britain's skies and building their huge nests on roofs and buildings as well as in trees, but disappeared centuries ago as a breeding bird due to hunting and habitat loss. Since 2016, the white stork project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured storks - which can act as a 'magnet' for wild birds that visit from the continent - at Knepp and Wadhurst Park, with the first successful breeding in 2020. In the four decades before the start of the project, there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London. But between 2016 and 2023 there have been 472 sightings in the capital, with the numbers increasing year-on-year, conservationists said. Community-focused urban rewilding organisation Citizen Zoo is conducting an appraisal on making London a 'white stork-friendly city', including habitat mapping, reaching out to boroughs across the capital to gauge their response and surveying the public about the birds. It has worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles in Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital, in efforts to bring city dwellers closer to nature, deliver wellbeing benefits and make London more resilient to climate change. The storks have wider ecological benefits for their habitat, creating huge nests which are homes and food sources for an array of species from insects to birds. But it is their ability to inspire people about nature that has been a key part of reintroduction efforts in the UK. Elliot Newton, co-founder and director of rewilding at Citizen Zoo, said: 'These are a really talismanic, iconic species that really do draw and attract attention. 'You look up into the skies and see a white stork, it's quite obvious.' The survey is being led by the University of Brighton's Rachel White, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the white stork project in Sussex. The first phase of the study has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and a second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their view on white storks and their place in the capital. Dr White said: 'It is really important to be monitoring stakeholders' opinions and attitudes towards any reintroductions, because that's one of the main reasons that reintroduction projects fail - they haven't got the buy-in from the key stakeholders. 'It is really important to not assume, or to not just go ahead with projects, because you see the conservation value in it.' She said projects need to ensure a majority of people are onboard with a reintroduction, that the rationale has been clearly communicated and people have been given the opportunity to have their say. The national survey found overall people were very positive towards the species, even if they had never seen storks before, although there was a lack of knowledge about things such as the stork's diet, and even what they looked like. But a 'relatively small' number of people - often those who were ecologists, conservationists or birders - were not in favour of the reintroduction, largely because it was not a threatened species and they thought it should not be a priority for action, she added. The London survey will feed into the wider assessment by Citizen Zoo of the political and public enthusiasm, and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex. However, Mr Newton added that 'nature has a fantastic tendency to surprise us', with the possibility storks could establish themselves in the capital of their own accord.
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Rewilding group to assess possible return of white storks to London
An urban rewilding group is seeking the public's views on the potential return of white storks to London as part of a project to see if the birds could make a home in the capital. White storks could once be seen flying in Britain's skies and building their huge nests on roofs and in trees, but they disappeared centuries ago as a breeding bird as a result of hunting and habitat loss. Citizen Zoo, an organisation that specialises in community-led urban rewilding, is conducting an appraisal on making London a 'white stork-friendly city'. It will include habitat mapping, contacting boroughs across the capital to gauge their interest and surveying the public about the birds. The White Stork Project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured birds at Knepp and Wadhurst Park since 2016. These can act as a 'magnet' for wild birds that visit from the continent, and the project's first breeding success was in 2020. In the four decades before the start of the project there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London, but there were 472 sightings between 2016 and 2023, with the numbers increasing year on year, conservationists said. Elliot Newton, a co-founder of Citizen Zoo and its director of rewilding, said: 'If you look across European landscapes, this is a bird that can actually thrive in urban landscapes. What we want to see is how we can make London a more white stork-friendly environment, and embrace it for its ability to inspire people about the nature we can and should have close to where we live.' The survey is being led by Dr Rachel White, of the University of Brighton, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the White Stork Project in Sussex. The first phase has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and the second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their views on white storks and their place in the capital. The London survey will feed into Citizen Zoo's wider assessment of the political and public enthusiasm and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Citizen Zoo has previously worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles in Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital.
