Sigulda Municipality (Grāfs and Grāfiene)

documenting the life on streamed black stork nests
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Madli
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

Post by Madli »

Poor Grafiene22. She had been together with Grafs for 10 days already. But now the stronger female took her place. :roll:
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Madli
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

Post by Madli »

May 26

Grafs is still happily together with Grafiene2021. As we can see they are also still mating..
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And are very much in love :P
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Madli
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

Post by Madli »

VIDEO of the female's fight on 24th May by Amanda:

Grāfiene 2022 was ten days and nights with the Grāfs (male black stork). Then Grāfiene 2021 returned ( from where?) and threw out the young female. From this moment Grāfs is with female stork from 2021 year.

GRĀFIENE 2021 kicks GRĀFIENI 2022 OUT Melnais stārķis Siguldas novadā - LDF tiešraide 24.05.2022

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Madli
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

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Today, Grafiene22 was near the nest, the pair was singing and tracking her. No physical contacts happened.
Adria
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

Post by Adria »

marika.solo wrote: 24 May 2022, 17:04
Madli wrote: 24 May 2022, 14:06 This is all very interesting, but a little too much for me to document in detail. The chicks in Karula arrive in a few days...
:arrow: we need more active members
even documenting a single nest is hard work for one person
It is a pity that there is no one to document this nest. :( Someone who is active on YT chat from this stream, e.g. Светлана !!! , not interested in documentation?
marika.solo
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

Post by marika.solo »

GT translation - correction needed
https://goris.lv/ieskats-izrades-aizkulises/

An insight behind the scenes
Maris Strazds June 5, 2022

Latvians love theatre, at least that's what many write. Critics, directors, actors and sometimes the viewers themselves. There are many versions of why this is so. I am inclined to agree that people love theatre because what is happening in it is an 'official lie'. Everyone knows that actor X is not, say, King Henry VIII of England and / or actress Y is not Mary Stewart. Therefore, the better they pretend to be these characters, (that is, the better they lie), the more they like the show. In contrast to everything that happens on a daily basis, when officials, politicians, civil servants, bosses, etc. pretends to be right. Only in these cases is it much more difficult to tell when what is said is true and when it is not. Often the only helper in these cases is one's own knowledge of the subject.

When live broadcasts of bird nests and other natural objects began to appear in the public space one after the other, one of their goals was to educate the public about the subject. To some extent it has succeeded. There is much greater clarity in the aspects of bird life that can be seen "on stage" (screen). In addition, all visually appealing events are recorded, saved and can be watched over and over again, unless someone has seen them live. You no longer have to try to tell someone that eggs in nests or babies can be carried by a predator, that parents can stop feeding their children, that fights [between storks themselves], etc. can take place in nests, and so on.

Just as in the theatre you can only see what is happening on stage, everything that is happening behind the curtain is just a matter of mention. And here begins the fantasies of the observers. It is humanly interesting that what is happening behind the scenes sometimes provokes quite heated discussions, although what is written in the discussions (chats and forums) shows that none of the disputants knows the subject of the dispute. Once again, an important aspect of peeping needs to be mentioned, such as the ongoing attractiveness and importance. Not everything that is important is attractive (and visually interesting). People notice and discuss something interesting. Events are affected by important developments. This is often the main reason why discussions are "getting in the way".

In the past, opera and ballet performances had programs with a short description of the plot. When I went with my parents to ballet or opera as a child (which my parents could afford at the time), that was the first thing that mattered to me. Opportunity to read what will happen before each action. Webcam organizers do not have the ability to write the content of the next act because no one knows it.

But events in nature are also determined by many curtain processes, both in space and time. For example, storks spend more time outside Latvia than there. Seven months away (September - March), against five here (April - August). In the season, each bird spends more time outside the nest than in the nest. We assume that when feeding, but somehow forget that there is a distance between point A (socket) and points B… Z (feeding points) that must be covered somehow. Birds do this when they fly, so they spend a lot of time in the air. Including quite high in the air, where no surveillance devices can be attached. Finally, even in the front of the camera, a lot of things happen overnight (which due to cost at most sockets doesn't show up). On top of all that, storks are not pull-on toys. Everything they do (or don’t do), even if it’s visible on camera, has a reason

In fact, the "window" of webcam viewers is not much more than peeking through a keyhole in someone's home. It shows only excerpts from the life of the spy subject and the correctness of the judgments about the subject depends very much on previous knowledge about it. I have been with this subject at various intensities for 40 years. At least it seems to me that I have understood that in the meantime. National decision-makers have shown in various ways that they do not need this knowledge. But knowledge, like money in the grave, cannot be taken with you, or rather, it is not needed there either. It is the case that nothing can be taught to anyone, at best it can help those who want to learn. Assuming this is the case with live viewers, I will share a "behind-the-scenes look." Maybe someone will benefit.
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

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Scenography

The live picture has brief information about the nest and its known history. But sometimes even a short text is too long for many viewers to read. Last year, there was a debate in live stork forums about how high the nest was, even though it was written there. The following is a quote from the Youtube live window annotation:

"The nest as such is a very typical black stork's nest - on a pine branch 1.8 m from the trunk, but it is a bit unusual that it is already in the middle of the surrounding tree crowns - about 18 meters high, not hidden under the crowns."

This text tells a lot more to those who know 1) how long the branches of pines are, 2) how big and heavy the stork's nest is, 3) how tall are the other trees in the forest (or how tall are the trees in the forest on average in Latvia at all), 4) why "Normal" nests are hidden under the wreaths. Also, the "surrounding trees" are only visible in one direction. There is 1 pine (nesting tree), 5 spruces and 4+ birches in the frame.

This year, 4 of these spruces have withered. One could talk about why this happened, but it no longer matters. The trees are withered and will certainly not come to life. After a while, they will inevitably break. The spruce branches are like a big rake and the dead spruce branches are stronger than the green ones from time to time. Any of the surrounding spruce trees can break the pine branch on which the nest is placed and / or knock down the nest if the pine branch proves to be springy enough not to fall off at the first touch. This will happen sometime in the future, but the new "stage layout" is already directly affecting the nest.

pic1 + pic 2 (later - done)

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Change in the surroundings of the nest 2021-2022. per year. Live screenshots.

It does not matter how beautiful blankets decorate the sofa in the bedroom, if the bedroom has no walls and ceiling. The call to make love "in the middle of the Dome Square, where everyone can see it" is unlikely to reach most people. Similar to storks, there are other factors that make the potential nest site unsuitable. They are less sensitive to "spectators", but they are sensitive to noise. while storks are sensitive to heat during growth (amplified by continuous sunlight). In a normal year, storks get the water they need to grow, but in a dry and hot year it is not enough. The nest exposed to the sun dries up much faster and is much easier to spot by potential nest destroyers - eagles, chicken hawks and ravens. Both can mean "dropped year". The parents have recognized themselves by trying to feed the children, but in the end there are no children.

Actors

Each bird has seen at least one nest in its lifetime (the one in which it grew up) and has reached a successful nesting age. Therefore, an adult bird "knows" (albeit unknowingly) what a "right" nest should be. The data we get from photo traps show that many (all?) Birds visit many nests along the way or during their non-nesting years. Therefore, there is reason to believe that experience (longer life) is a value that is also valued by potential partners and is likely to raise the threshold for the 'validity' of a particular nest.

There are many cases where "suddenly nothing happens" in a seemingly good, undisturbed and previously undamaged nest. Only a few months later, it turns out that the nest tree is broken. Apparently, there are visible or audible factors to suggest that it should be remembered that during hatching, each of the birds, both T and M, spends about 400 hours sitting in the nest and "doing nothing". During this time, they have enough time to notice some danger. Whether they are more frequent visits by woodpeckers, or the creaking of a tree or anything else, we can only guess.

A female that has nested at least once probably remembers the context of the failed nest. It may be a drop in the socket, but it may also be too much exposure of the socket. In Latvia, there are nests located on the tops of dry trees, while they are shaded by surrounding trees. The most important word in the previous sentence is "while". The inhabitant of the webcam nest has not been there again this year. On April 16, the first lady of storks visited the nest for a short time. She existed, repeatedly nervously moved the bunch of reeds and flew away. I could imagine the course of her thoughts in this way - this nest can be seen from all sides, no matter how pretty it may be. And yet this manure in the nest. Why is it here, no normal old man lays a nest with reeds! Well no, thank you… There was another time later. Also do not enter into even the closest (in terms of distance) conversations with the owner of the nest. (1)

It could not be said that there is a lack of ladies, if at least two people visited here at the beginning of the season (2). Rather, the adult girls did not like the nest. It may be the fault of the host, but a little later. After that, however, the owner of the nest has a permanent partner (Mom # 3), who was soon thrown out of the nest by another (Mom # 4). In public discussions (3) was discussed, quoting "which the Count chooses" and "why the Countess-21 arrived so late from Africa" (4). The answer to the first question is simple. Count5 did not choose anyone because moms choose whether to go in with him or not. He's just trying to be good enough for someone. Not least, the two birds that replaced each other are not fully grown. Mom # 3 is probably only three years old and this could have been her first nesting attempt. However, I have repeatedly erred in determining the age of birds of known age (they have been ringed), so I will refrain from saying so. But the bird had a lot of unchanged young bird feathers.

As for the second question, more importantly, some of the clearly worn feathers on the back of the young bird are also present in Mom # 4. If the hair of an adult bird is very worn, it does not look the same (6), then this bird is definitely not the same as the one that nested here in 2021. However, even if it is the same bird, the debate over why the bird "returned late from Africa" ​​is rather stupid because it is not based on facts. What we all know (I, like any observer of this nest) is the date this bird first appeared at THIS nest. Assumptions that a bird flies from its wintering spot immediately to its own and only to its own nest are wrong. Data from photo traps from more than 100 nests for more than a decade have shown that birds can visit (many) other nests along the way, can stay in one of them for quite a long time, and there can be a very long distance between these nests. When this stork lady returned from Africa, and what she did after, only she knew.
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

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pic 2 + pic 3 (later - done)

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The amount of manure indicates the condition of the bird. In the left picture (A), the spray of female manure is so small that it is almost invisible (arrow), and in the right picture (B) the spray of manure is so short that everything fits in the frame. Live screenshots on May 24, 2022.
And the fact that the birds mated does not mean that they will lay eggs and raise their young. I don't want to say that they deliberately decide to "skip this year" (7). The "decision" may be influenced by a much simpler mechanism. Of course, in order to lay a fertilized egg from which a chicken hatches, a male is needed to fertilize the egg. But that is not enough. The egg itself consists mainly of nutrients that "mom has to provide" for the egg to form at all. The repeatedly small sprays of manure for mother # 3 showed that she herself was in a rather sad condition and that it is possible that the lack of food in the spring determines whether or not there will be offspring. As for Mom # 4, it can't be said, but there is no other option. They both understand that this place is not good, but since there are young birds, they use this year to "train". The skill requires building a relationship with a partner, mating (which is not just an act dictated by instincts), and tidying up and maintaining a nest.

pic 4 (later - done)

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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

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It is possible that the health of the 4th mother is not perfect either. This bird unusually "yawns", but unfortunately so far it has never been so that the inside of the throat is visible. Whether the bark is boiled by parasites in the neck (black storks have trematodes in their necks) or any other reason can only be mentioned. If parasites are to blame, then they also indicate a lack of food. Parasites have a strong effect on the bird's body if it is weakened (for example, due to a lack of food).

DDT, mercury, roundup or anything else

The position of the 'training partner' may be less decisive in choosing the partner to feed the children with. The count looks very good visually, but it certainly does not mean that everything is fine with him. We also provide tests for many diseases. The composition of our blood and what we remove from the body tell us a great deal about the condition of our body. The same is true with birds, of course. The puni is deposited in the growing feathers and, of course, removed with manure.8 . All feathers are dropped over time and replaced with new ones. Females also remove harmful substances from the body with eggs. Therefore, a bird with a highly contaminated body may be able to lay eggs, but the condition of the eggs themselves may be such that the chicken cannot form or hatch and die. We cannot invite storks to donate blood to the laboratory, but it is possible to collect and analyze dropped feathers, eggshells, unhatched eggs and manure.

Initially, we turned to the former miracle cure - DDT9 to detect the presence of stork eggs now. The use of DDT has been banned in Latvia since 1967 and should not be anywhere. More than 200 eggs have been inspected since 2006 and only one has been cleaned so far. In addition, in recent years, many eggs contain small amounts of DDT itself rather than its breakdown products. Concentrations are not yet dangerous, but the misfortune is different. DDT decomposes within a few years and becomes more stable isomers, the most important of which is DDE, which "lives" for a long time. If DDT itself is found in the samples, it means that it is being used now. The actual reaction of the "responsible" state institutions so far has been completely irresponsible. Don't bother us with this problem (because it's not obvious and no one has died yet. About that)!

In recent years, the support of the Scientific Council has made it possible to address another very dangerous pollutant. For mercury. Unlike DDT, which is a man-made substance, mercury is a naturally occurring element, but it can be methylated under certain conditions, and methylated mercury is very dangerous. I quote a booklet developed by the University's Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy on this element:

"At high doses, mercury is deadly, but even relatively small doses can have an adverse effect on the human body. The central nervous system and kidneys suffer most from mercury poisoning. Mercury is particularly harmful to the developing nervous system (compared to the mature nervous system, which does not undergo active change) and should be especially protected in children and pregnant women. "

Birds' metabolism is much more intense than we are, and perhaps that is why mercury is one of the most harmful pollutants for birds. In the current project, we analyze both eggshells and manure collected at nests. As mercury is naturally occurring, there can be no completely pure sample. Generally (which could be considered as background), the measured concentrations are in the range of 100-200 ng / g. The highest concentrations are found in egg membranes. To date, the most contaminated sample contained 1900 ng / g of mercury (collected on 9.7.2014). The highest value found so far in manure samples is 800 ng / g (9.05.2021). Both of these nests were counterproductive. Unfortunately, high levels of mercury in some birds are not the only ones found so far, but it is too early to say any definitive conclusions. This project is ongoing,
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Re: Grāfs and Grāfiene (Sigulda Municipality)

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pic 6 + pic 7 (later - done)

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The measurement of mercury concentration in the laboratory of the Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy of the University of Latvia was performed with a mercury analyser (LUMEX RA-915M). Prior to measurement, the shells and membranes are crushed (A), the samples are weighed and placed in the analyser oven, and the result is displayed on a computer with a special program (B). With this device it is possible to measure the concentrations of mercury in various substances (air, solids and liquids). Photo: Rita Veilande
There is also a round. It is known that roundworms are very effective in destroying tadpoles, but frog black stork is a very important supplement. If there is nothing to eat, see above. And there are hundreds of other "harmless" manures that are irresponsibly spread to the right and left, both industrially and in small gardens. We all love nature very much, only weeds and pests interfere. So (through the keyhole) we look at empty nests.

Stage and keyhole

One might ask why birds do not choose better places and do not build nests there. A brief description of a good place (in terms of success) is in an unfragmented forest (within a radius of at least 1 km around the nest) with as many unmodified feeding grounds (rivers) as possible, with many fish of different sizes. The short answer to where they can be found is nowhere in Latvia . All the rest are more or less bad and all the best are busy. It is not yet the case that there are no nesting pairs in Latvia. But almost all successful nests regularly fight for this place and / or an experienced partner. Wanting is much more than an opportunity.

One might also ask why the webcam is not immediately connected to one of the best sockets. It should be clarified here that the provision of a live broadcast depends on whether or not there is a strong enough telephone signal at the socket. Anyone in Latvia who has tried to call someone in the woods will know how great the network coverage is as soon as you walk behind the first tree, in relation to the transmitter (tower). From the point of view of the stork, "good nests" are almost by far as far away from the disturbing infrastructure (roads, residential buildings, etc.) as possible, but in some cases, when a signal can be obtained at the top of the tree, another risk increases considerably. It is too likely that a 'poor poor' will use the batteries (or other parts of the camera system) left in the forest to improve their well-being. It already happened at the first webcam socket.

An important influencing factor is also the distance to the nest "from Riga" - if something happens at the camera, it has to leave. Back and forth. Often many times a season because something happens every now and then. An electronic device is hanging. A branch falls on the cable and pulls out the contact and the like. Therefore, there are very few sockets available for camera installation. When I researched the possibilities of installing a webcam in 2015, only three sockets turned out to be valid10 . This year, thinking of a possibly new place for next season, there are four nests on my list. Two of them are too risky due to possible hardware thieves. Whether there is an area next to the other two remains to be seen.

Other performance properties

Continuing the similarities with theatre, I will return to the most important factor. Every theatrical performance has not only a set of scenery, but also a different kind of provision - actors need costumes and, after all, they have to make ends meet in order to survive between performances. There will be no other portrayals of Henry, Mary, and other characters. Also for the audience, the theatre cafe is sometimes more important than the show itself, if the show fails. The availability of food and water for the stork is not just a matter of comfort. This is a prerequisite for nesting at all, and if nesting is initiated, it makes some sense.

I do not want to offend anyone, but if the following is offended too personally, it deserves to be offended. The extent to which live coverage has reached its original goal of "educating the public about what's going on in nature" was demonstrated by last year's marasm by setting up a feeder at the end of the season. No matter how many fish were allowed into it and how close it was to the nest. LDF could not stand its own policy of not interfering in nature, and a large number of viewers showed that they were interested in a Mexican series with a happy ending that could be bought for little money (donations). I was going to write something then, but I was warned not to offend the donors - on whom a lot depends. It just seems to me that donations that are being transferred to the wrong account are money thrown to the ground that benefits no one. Unfortunately, a large part (and for the sake of the anonymity requested of me, I will not mention how many) of the donations were credited to an account that had nothing to do with the possible establishment of a feeder. But it is more important to understand how meaningful the idea of ​​organizing something like this was in general. The circumstances that led to this "action" may be repeated in another nest where the next webcam may be installed. This statement (someone or many) may not like it.
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