ITALY
Freschi, P., Cosentino, C., Napolitano, F., Pacelli, C., Manicone, D., Mallia, E., Ragni, M., Paolino, R., & Braghieri, A. (2023). First Report on a Cliff-Nesting Pair of Black Storks (Ciconia nigra Linnaeus, 1758) and Their Nestlings. Forests, 14(10), 1941. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101941
this report is about the (streamed) nest in Parco Gallipoli - Castelmezzano, season 2012 (!)
Baska and Iater by me this nest was documented in the past in LK forum (season 2016 to 2021)
in our forum:
2022 - no streaming
2023 - viewtopic.php?f=86&t=120 : 14.03 two stork on the nest, 15.03 one stork, some working, disturbed by one raptor again and again, no more stork noticed on this nest
2024 - the nest remained empty
Black storks around the world
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marika.solo
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marika.solo
- Site Admin
- Posts: 28868
- Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 09:38
Re: Black storks around the world
ITALY
The breeding of Black Stork in Italy in the 2024 year.
Report on the nesting of the black stork Ciconia nigra in Italy. Year 2024
By Massimo Brunelli, Beatrice Bigu, Lucio Bordignon, Matteo Caldarella, Guido Cattaneo, Gianluca Congi, Sefora Di Nucci, Bruno Dovere, Diego Errico, Maurizio Fraissinet, Egidio Mallia, Maurizio Marrese, Nicola Norante, Mario Pucci, Vincenzo Rizzi, Giuseppe Rocca, Andrea sorrentino, Salvatore Urso, Bruno Vaschetti, Gabriella Vaschetti and Matteo Visceglia, in Alula. (http://www.sropu.org/downloads/Alula31( ... t%20al.pdf)
In 2024 year, the annual monitoring of the Italian population of Black Stork recorded the presence of 43 territorial pairs whit 83 fledged juveniles.
(source: 23 December 2024 https://www.facebook.com/Italornitholog ... 813652697/)
The breeding of Black Stork in Italy in the 2024 year.
Report on the nesting of the black stork Ciconia nigra in Italy. Year 2024
By Massimo Brunelli, Beatrice Bigu, Lucio Bordignon, Matteo Caldarella, Guido Cattaneo, Gianluca Congi, Sefora Di Nucci, Bruno Dovere, Diego Errico, Maurizio Fraissinet, Egidio Mallia, Maurizio Marrese, Nicola Norante, Mario Pucci, Vincenzo Rizzi, Giuseppe Rocca, Andrea sorrentino, Salvatore Urso, Bruno Vaschetti, Gabriella Vaschetti and Matteo Visceglia, in Alula. (http://www.sropu.org/downloads/Alula31( ... t%20al.pdf)
In 2024 year, the annual monitoring of the Italian population of Black Stork recorded the presence of 43 territorial pairs whit 83 fledged juveniles.
(source: 23 December 2024 https://www.facebook.com/Italornitholog ... 813652697/)
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marika.solo
- Site Admin
- Posts: 28868
- Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 09:38
Re: Black storks around the world
ITALY
Three decades of monitoring the Black Stork Ciconia nigra breeding population in Italy
Matteo Visceglia, Salvatore Urso, Giuseppe Rocca, Nicola Norante, Maurizio Marrese, Mariangela Francione, Maurizio Fraissinet, Diego Errico, Bruno Dovere, Guido Cattaneo, Matteo Caldarella, Massimo Brunelli, Lucio Bordignon, Beatrice Bigu (G.L.I.Ci.Ne.)
The Black Stork Ciconia nigra has been nesting in Italy since 1994, initially with 2 pairs in Piedmont and 1 in Calabria; since 2000 also in other regions. In 2024, the nesting pairs confirmed were 43, distributed in 7 regions: Piedmont, Lazio, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria. Overall, the population can be estimated at around 50 pairs. In 2003, G.L.I.Ci.Ne. was founded, with the aim of monitoring the trend of the species in Italy, identifying coordinators for each Region. G.L.I.Ci.Ne carries out annual monitoring and organizes workshops.
Since 2008, it has published reports at the end of each breeding season. Monitoring includes: identification of pairs (nesting or territorial), verification of those that have laid eggs and raised young; number of fledged young; calculation of productivity, reproductive success and fledging rate. Over the last thirty years, the population in Italy has been growing steadily: 390 controlled pairs were found (a), of which 332 laid eggs (b), 310 raised young (c), 907 fledged young (d); reproductive parameters recorded a productivity of 2.32 (d/a), a reproductive success of 2.73 (d/b) and a fledging rate of 2.93 (d/c). The majority of the population is concentrated in Southern Italy, with Basilicata and Calabria hosting 55% of the total pairs. With the exception of Piedmont, nests are found on rocks.
(source: https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/wp-conten ... e_2025.pdf)
Three decades of monitoring the Black Stork Ciconia nigra breeding population in Italy
Matteo Visceglia, Salvatore Urso, Giuseppe Rocca, Nicola Norante, Maurizio Marrese, Mariangela Francione, Maurizio Fraissinet, Diego Errico, Bruno Dovere, Guido Cattaneo, Matteo Caldarella, Massimo Brunelli, Lucio Bordignon, Beatrice Bigu (G.L.I.Ci.Ne.)
The Black Stork Ciconia nigra has been nesting in Italy since 1994, initially with 2 pairs in Piedmont and 1 in Calabria; since 2000 also in other regions. In 2024, the nesting pairs confirmed were 43, distributed in 7 regions: Piedmont, Lazio, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria. Overall, the population can be estimated at around 50 pairs. In 2003, G.L.I.Ci.Ne. was founded, with the aim of monitoring the trend of the species in Italy, identifying coordinators for each Region. G.L.I.Ci.Ne carries out annual monitoring and organizes workshops.
Since 2008, it has published reports at the end of each breeding season. Monitoring includes: identification of pairs (nesting or territorial), verification of those that have laid eggs and raised young; number of fledged young; calculation of productivity, reproductive success and fledging rate. Over the last thirty years, the population in Italy has been growing steadily: 390 controlled pairs were found (a), of which 332 laid eggs (b), 310 raised young (c), 907 fledged young (d); reproductive parameters recorded a productivity of 2.32 (d/a), a reproductive success of 2.73 (d/b) and a fledging rate of 2.93 (d/c). The majority of the population is concentrated in Southern Italy, with Basilicata and Calabria hosting 55% of the total pairs. With the exception of Piedmont, nests are found on rocks.
(source: https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/wp-conten ... e_2025.pdf)
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marika.solo
- Site Admin
- Posts: 28868
- Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 09:38
Re: Black storks around the world
FRANCE
https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/b ... 80490.html
- three black storks were equipped with GPS trackers in 2025
- the first is a descendant of Divona, a famous black stork male in the forest park, which had been followed since 2010 and died in 2024, victim of a predation; his descendant is currently wintering in Morocco
- the other two storks were so far unknown to the teams; they are both mature, at least two years old; it is not known for the moment whether they return to the National Forest Park every year or if they transit just; GPS tracking will determine if they are returning to it next spring; meanwhile, one of them winters in Morocco, the other in Senegal
https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/b ... 80490.html
- three black storks were equipped with GPS trackers in 2025
- the first is a descendant of Divona, a famous black stork male in the forest park, which had been followed since 2010 and died in 2024, victim of a predation; his descendant is currently wintering in Morocco
- the other two storks were so far unknown to the teams; they are both mature, at least two years old; it is not known for the moment whether they return to the National Forest Park every year or if they transit just; GPS tracking will determine if they are returning to it next spring; meanwhile, one of them winters in Morocco, the other in Senegal
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marika.solo
- Site Admin
- Posts: 28868
- Joined: 29 Sep 2021, 09:38
Re: Black storks around the world
FRANCE
+ very nice photos (some of them also here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackst ... 9109357959
Exceptional post-breeding gathering of Black Storks in Loir-et-Cher
19 September 2026
By Frédéric Pelsy
The Black Stork is a rare breeding bird in France, with only 75 pairs recorded in 2022 (Brouillard & Boutteaux 2024). It nests in forests and feeds in open areas with high-quality watercourses. The species has been steadily expanding since the first known nesting events in France in the 1970s: in 1973 in Indre-et-Loire (G.O.T. in Duquet 1995), 1975 in Burgundy (Ferry 1992), and 1976 in Franche-Comté (Loiseau 1977). By 2024, it occupied 33 departments in the northern half of the country (Brouillard & Boutteaux op. cit.) and nested for the first time in the Île-de-France region in 2025 (Dubois & Duquet 2026). In the Loir-et-Cher department, the first confirmed proof of breeding was obtained in 2021 (D. Hacquemand, pers. comm.), although breeding likely already occurred in 2016 (L. Charbonnier, pers. comm.).
In France, the post-breeding passage of the Black Stork begins at the end of July and increases rapidly in August, peaking between the last ten days of the month and mid-September, before declining rapidly before mid-October. The migratory flow crosses the country along two main axes: one connects the North-East (Lorraine, Champagne) to the Centre-West (Burgundy, Centre region, Limousin) and then to the South-West to cross the Pyrenees via the western passes; the other enters France through the Jura towards the Dombes (Ain) and goes down the Rhône Valley to the Camargue before turning due west along the Mediterranean coast towards Roussillon and Catalonia (Chapalain 2022).
Observations
In 2026, the migration of the Black Stork began as usual in August in Sologne and Loir-et-Cher. A flock of 12 birds gaining altitude on thermal currents on 2 August marked the true start of migration. Small groups or isolated birds were then reported throughout the month: for instance, a flock of 12 individuals in Marcilly-en-Gault on the 20th, 17 in Saint-Viâtre on the 23rd, and 15 in Chémery on the 31st. A first significant stopover group of 22 individuals was observed at the edge of a pond in Mur-de-Sologne on 31 August.
Numbers increased in September:
On a pond in Mur-de-Sologne, the number of staging birds was 76 on 5 September, 16 on the 6th, 2 on the 7th, and 38 on the 10th. In the first group, five birds were ringed (one ring read: bird originating from Sologne) and one adult carried a transmitter on its back.
On 8 September in Soings-en-Sologne, a very large group was seen descending from the sky to land on a pond. A count revealed the presence of 164 Black Storks, including 95 juveniles—suggesting successful breeding in 2026—and 131 White Storks! Upon arrival, the Black Storks fed together in a dense group, side by side, without mixing with the White Storks. Eventually, they all fished together. The group of Black Storks included eight ringed individuals; of the six rings that could be read, two were from France, two from the Czech Republic, one from Germany, and one from Croatia. The group stayed on the pond until evening and likely spent the night there. By the following evening, a few Black Storks were still present, but most had departed.
Discussion
A search of published data on post-breeding gatherings of Black Storks in France indicates that the group of 164 individuals observed on 8 September 2026 in Soings-en-Sologne is the largest recorded to date. The Champagne lakes host stopover groups in August and September, with the largest numbers recorded there involving dozens of birds: 35 individuals at Lac du Der (Marne) on 25 September 2025, 52 at Lac du Temple (Aube) on 23 August 2026, and 83 at Lac de la Forêt d’Orient (Aube) on 6 September 2021. Regarding large migratory flocks seen in flight in France, notable examples include 106 birds on 15 March 2026 in Indre (Guillaume de La Faire, ObsIndre) and, most remarkably, around 250 individuals on 19 March 2023 in Hérault (Xavier Rufray, Faune France).
The origin of ringed birds stopping over at the Forêt d’Orient lakes (Aube)—where groups of Black Storks stage for 10 to 16 weeks depending on the year—has been documented. The 70 ringed individuals observed between 2001 and 2018 in the Forêt d’Orient National Nature Reserve originated mainly from Belgium and the Czech Republic, as well as Germany and Poland. Some individuals show strong site fidelity, such as two Czech Black Storks observed every year for 12 consecutive years (2007–2018) in the region (Gaillard & Brossault 2018). It is therefore natural to find a shared origin between the birds seen in Champagne and those in Sologne.
Several factors can explain this exceptional gathering of 164 individuals in Soings-en-Sologne on 8 September. Due to severe drought in the summer of 2026, most of the small streams favoured by the species were dry, and low water levels in ponds created ideal fishing conditions, concentrating migrating storks in these locations. This aligns with the conclusions of Gaillard & Brossault (2018) regarding the Champagne lakes, where Black Storks have stopped during post-breeding migration from August to October since 1974 to take advantage of dropping water levels to feed on fish and frogs. Furthermore, the weather conditions on 8 September 2026 were notable: after several sunny days, a low-pressure system crossed the Loir-et-Cher department during the day, encouraging migrating birds to land.
Citation recommandée : Pelsy F. (2026). Rassemblement postnuptial exceptionnel de Cigognes noires dans le Loir-et-Cher. Post-Ornithos 3 : e2026.09.19.
https://marcduquet.com/rassemblement-po ... r-et-cher/
© 2026 Marc Duquet Post-Ornithos
La reproduction partielle ou totale des textes, des cartes et des graphiques pour une utilisation commerciale est interdite sans l'accord préalable de l'auteur.
+ very nice photos (some of them also here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackst ... 9109357959
Exceptional post-breeding gathering of Black Storks in Loir-et-Cher
19 September 2026
By Frédéric Pelsy
The Black Stork is a rare breeding bird in France, with only 75 pairs recorded in 2022 (Brouillard & Boutteaux 2024). It nests in forests and feeds in open areas with high-quality watercourses. The species has been steadily expanding since the first known nesting events in France in the 1970s: in 1973 in Indre-et-Loire (G.O.T. in Duquet 1995), 1975 in Burgundy (Ferry 1992), and 1976 in Franche-Comté (Loiseau 1977). By 2024, it occupied 33 departments in the northern half of the country (Brouillard & Boutteaux op. cit.) and nested for the first time in the Île-de-France region in 2025 (Dubois & Duquet 2026). In the Loir-et-Cher department, the first confirmed proof of breeding was obtained in 2021 (D. Hacquemand, pers. comm.), although breeding likely already occurred in 2016 (L. Charbonnier, pers. comm.).
In France, the post-breeding passage of the Black Stork begins at the end of July and increases rapidly in August, peaking between the last ten days of the month and mid-September, before declining rapidly before mid-October. The migratory flow crosses the country along two main axes: one connects the North-East (Lorraine, Champagne) to the Centre-West (Burgundy, Centre region, Limousin) and then to the South-West to cross the Pyrenees via the western passes; the other enters France through the Jura towards the Dombes (Ain) and goes down the Rhône Valley to the Camargue before turning due west along the Mediterranean coast towards Roussillon and Catalonia (Chapalain 2022).
Observations
In 2026, the migration of the Black Stork began as usual in August in Sologne and Loir-et-Cher. A flock of 12 birds gaining altitude on thermal currents on 2 August marked the true start of migration. Small groups or isolated birds were then reported throughout the month: for instance, a flock of 12 individuals in Marcilly-en-Gault on the 20th, 17 in Saint-Viâtre on the 23rd, and 15 in Chémery on the 31st. A first significant stopover group of 22 individuals was observed at the edge of a pond in Mur-de-Sologne on 31 August.
Numbers increased in September:
On a pond in Mur-de-Sologne, the number of staging birds was 76 on 5 September, 16 on the 6th, 2 on the 7th, and 38 on the 10th. In the first group, five birds were ringed (one ring read: bird originating from Sologne) and one adult carried a transmitter on its back.
On 8 September in Soings-en-Sologne, a very large group was seen descending from the sky to land on a pond. A count revealed the presence of 164 Black Storks, including 95 juveniles—suggesting successful breeding in 2026—and 131 White Storks! Upon arrival, the Black Storks fed together in a dense group, side by side, without mixing with the White Storks. Eventually, they all fished together. The group of Black Storks included eight ringed individuals; of the six rings that could be read, two were from France, two from the Czech Republic, one from Germany, and one from Croatia. The group stayed on the pond until evening and likely spent the night there. By the following evening, a few Black Storks were still present, but most had departed.
Discussion
A search of published data on post-breeding gatherings of Black Storks in France indicates that the group of 164 individuals observed on 8 September 2026 in Soings-en-Sologne is the largest recorded to date. The Champagne lakes host stopover groups in August and September, with the largest numbers recorded there involving dozens of birds: 35 individuals at Lac du Der (Marne) on 25 September 2025, 52 at Lac du Temple (Aube) on 23 August 2026, and 83 at Lac de la Forêt d’Orient (Aube) on 6 September 2021. Regarding large migratory flocks seen in flight in France, notable examples include 106 birds on 15 March 2026 in Indre (Guillaume de La Faire, ObsIndre) and, most remarkably, around 250 individuals on 19 March 2023 in Hérault (Xavier Rufray, Faune France).
The origin of ringed birds stopping over at the Forêt d’Orient lakes (Aube)—where groups of Black Storks stage for 10 to 16 weeks depending on the year—has been documented. The 70 ringed individuals observed between 2001 and 2018 in the Forêt d’Orient National Nature Reserve originated mainly from Belgium and the Czech Republic, as well as Germany and Poland. Some individuals show strong site fidelity, such as two Czech Black Storks observed every year for 12 consecutive years (2007–2018) in the region (Gaillard & Brossault 2018). It is therefore natural to find a shared origin between the birds seen in Champagne and those in Sologne.
Several factors can explain this exceptional gathering of 164 individuals in Soings-en-Sologne on 8 September. Due to severe drought in the summer of 2026, most of the small streams favoured by the species were dry, and low water levels in ponds created ideal fishing conditions, concentrating migrating storks in these locations. This aligns with the conclusions of Gaillard & Brossault (2018) regarding the Champagne lakes, where Black Storks have stopped during post-breeding migration from August to October since 1974 to take advantage of dropping water levels to feed on fish and frogs. Furthermore, the weather conditions on 8 September 2026 were notable: after several sunny days, a low-pressure system crossed the Loir-et-Cher department during the day, encouraging migrating birds to land.
Citation recommandée : Pelsy F. (2026). Rassemblement postnuptial exceptionnel de Cigognes noires dans le Loir-et-Cher. Post-Ornithos 3 : e2026.09.19.
https://marcduquet.com/rassemblement-po ... r-et-cher/
© 2026 Marc Duquet Post-Ornithos
La reproduction partielle ou totale des textes, des cartes et des graphiques pour une utilisation commerciale est interdite sans l'accord préalable de l'auteur.