2023-09-08 18:30:00
Like every year at the same time, storks with white plumage and slender red legs pass through the Belgian sky. They stop over on our roofs, chimneys or lampposts. These migratory birds leave Europe to return to Africa, reluctant to stay here during the long cold winter months.
This Friday evening, numerous witnesses observed dozens of storks, mainly near Genappe, in Walloon Brabant. “There is an invasion of storks! The images are quite incredible, I thought I was in Pairi Daiza for a few seconds“, Marine told us. She told us that at first she thought they were fake birds because they had positioned themselves with great discipline, two by two on the lampposts.
“Around twenty storks along the N5 Genappe-Waterloo, on lighting poles“, another witness wrote to us via the orange Alert us button. “Around fifty storks seen in Genappe“, confirmed another. Your photos and videos are indeed surprising!
The peak of passage is traditionally in mid-August, as Antoine Derouaux, ornithologist at Natagora, explained to us a previous summer. These storks come from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark or sometimes Poland and are heading towards Africa. “They pass through us, cross France, go either as far as Spain, or pass a little further south via Gibraltar and arrive in Morocco and the North of Africa. Some individuals can even go beyond the Sahara .”
“They fly according to the weather”
Such a trip can take a few weeks, especially depending on the weather and the different places where the birds stop to feed and rest. “They fly depending on the weather because they like warm, sunny weather. They are gliding birds that need warm currents to climb into the sky without getting tired. They will climb very high and slide to the next place where they can catch an ascending current of warm air.”
In the evening, when temperatures have dropped, the storks settle down to feed, regain strength and rest. They are therefore often seen in the fields, then on pylons, lampposts or buildings to spend the night.
Fewer on return
Storks generally travel in groups, “it is not rare to see 50, 60, even 100 individuals together”. Once gone, you will have to wait until February to see them once more in Belgium. “They are going back in the other direction, towards the North.” In this case, the storks are often fewer in number. “Migration is more spread out over time and there are also losses during wintering and on return.” This return will take place from the end of February to the end of March.
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