email info: Unfortunately, a young Black stork Vihm has also died in Serbia. The bird's last location will not be revealed until one of our colleagues has been there and received the GPS transmitter. Perhaps then the cause of death will become clear.
Many of you followed Vihm’s movements from the nest and during migration and will feel sadness at this loss.
The mortality rate in the first year is very high — only about 20% of juvenile black storks survive. We have known for a long time that this possibility must always be considered, but it still hurts every single time.
And for Madli it’s probably the hardest — she was there during the ringing, she saw all three chicks up close, she even held them in her hands.
For me, the cause of death is always important. If we don’t find out what happened, then we can’t learn how to prevent similar losses in the future (if it is possibly).
But thanks to Vihm — or rather to the data from his transmitter — we now have new insights into the migration of juvenile black storks.
Fingers crossed for the third chick, little Iksi very, very much!
