Black stork nest camera in Jõgeva County 2022
13.04.2012 | Rubriik: Veebikaamerad
In 2022, there are two Black stork nest cameras in Estonia, one in Karula National Park (camera since 2016) and the other in Jõgeva County (camera since 2021). The nest camera in Jõgeva County is called “Must-toonekurg2”.
The breeding territory of black storks in Jõgeva County has been known since the early 1990s, when the black storks nested here successfully for several years. Among other things, this nest was used by the star of Estonia’s first nesting camera, the black stork Tooni. However, the camera of Tooni was not on this, but on Tooni’s new nest. After Toon had moved to another nest, this nest seen in the camera today, remained uninhabited for fifteen years (as far as we know). During the monitoring of the black stork in 2020, it became clear that the storks have re-inhabited the old artificial nest and what’s more, successfully nested on the half-decayed nest. Considering the poor situation of the black stork in Estonia, it was a small miracle that black storks came back to this nest. We built a new nest platform and installed a camera with an infrared sensor in the early spring of 2021. This allowed us to monitor what was happening in the nest even at night.
The owner of the nest, named Jan, arrived at the nest in 2021 on the late evening of April 10th. For a long time the male was alone, because the female Janika did not arrive until May 2nd. Due to the late arrival of the female, nesting started almost a month later than is usual for black storks. Therefore, the three chicks fledged at the end of August. Since the adults had already started migration at that time, we took fish to the nestlings for extra food. Out of three juveniles, two died near the nest. The third, aptly named Julge (meaning Brave), initially flew west towards Gotland. In the middle of the Baltic Sea, his strength subsided and he landed on a tanker bound for Primorsk. Julge sailed into the vicinity of Hiiumaa before taking flight and heading south again. His satellite signal disappeared near Paris (read about Brave’s adventures on the migration map). This year, the adults arrived at the nest on April 8th and 11th. They have no rings. Whether these are the same birds that nested here last year, still needs some research.
The future of Estonian black storks is bleak. The population has been declining for a long time and according to the latest estimates, only 50-70 pairs of Black storks nest in Estonia. For several years, a large proportion of unpaired birds have been observed in the Estonian Black stork population and it is likely that there is a shortage of females. So far no clear reason for this is known as the proportion of both sexes among nestlings is approximately equal. Thus, it seems that the daughters disappear before breeding age or move elsewhere. In addition, high levels of mercury have been found in the blood of nesting birds, leading to changes in bird behaviour, reduced fertility and a weakened immune system.
We use an infrared camera at the nest, which allows the image to be transmitted even in the dark. Black stork cameras don’t need to be camouflaged. So far, we haven’t noticed the camera disturbing nesting birds. On the contrary, adults have sometimes wanted to lift the camera into the nest like nest material that has fallen away. Current camera is situated about five meters away from the nest. The camera is transmitted via mobile Internet. The image is transferred to the server of the Estonian Fund for Nature, where the video is being prepared and saved for YouTube streaming. The livestream is broadcasted through the Eagle Club YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/Kotkaklubi. We recommend following the Kotkaklubi channel in case the link for the broadcast changes due to technical reasons. All other Estonian eagle and black stork nest cameras and a Capercaillie camera can also be found on the Eagle Club channel. The use of the stream from the nest elsewhere for non-commercial purposes is not prohibited, but please let us know if possible (send a message to urmas (ät) kotkas.ee). Events in the nest are documented by the viewers in Looduskalender forum in the nest are documented by the viewers in Looduskalender forum.
Supporters are welcome to each camera, because some components have to be replaced every year. We do not have any project support for this. The Environmental Investment Center has supported the installation, dismantling and maintenance of cameras.
Black stork nest camera team and supporters:
Eagle Club Estonia – camera installation and information sharing
Beta-Grupp OÜ – camera testing and setup, microphone construction, technical support
Looduskalender – camera forum
Eestimaa Looduse Fond – server
Akukeskus Tartus – akuabi
Karula Rahvuspark – pesapaiga kaitse
Environmental Investment Center – financial support for everyday activity
Many private donors – covering unexpected and expected hardware costs
Thousands of observers – who are the most important, because otherwise the camera would not make much sense!
