Migration has begun! 🌍 Our juvenile #WhiteStorks are on their way to Africa, and several have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar this past week! We'll be following their journeys over the coming months. Safe travels, little ones! 💙 #BirdMigration

First #WhiteStork powerline mortality of the year 💔 "Mallorca" took its first flight from the nest and collided with a powerline almost immediately. #Powerlines remain a major cause of mortality for young (and not so young!) birds, as they navigate anthropogenic landscapes. #ornithology

Urban colony of white storks in Silves. Great productivity this year. @birdsmove.bsky.social @anna-thompson.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social @ueaceec.bsky.social

More neighbour drama in the stork world...😬 Yet another #WhiteStork nest taken over by the invasive Egyptian geese. What tough competition! They’re loud, aggressive, and definitely not the easiest neighbours to have around… #ornithology #birds

Happy International Day for Biological Diversity from this Woodchat Shrike and their chicks! 🐦 #internationaldayforbiologicaldiversity #ornithology

Tiny fluffballs one minute… Almost proper storks the next! 🐣 They grow up so fast! 📷 @anna-thompson.bsky.social #whitestorks #ornithology #fieldwork

Celebrating the #WorldMigratoryBirdDay with White Storks! 🐦🌍 From southern Portugal to the Sahel, our storks travel thousands of kms to reach their sub-Saharan wintering grounds, from Senegal to Nigeria! #BirdMigration #WhiteStorks

🚨New paper from our group! Led by Bruno H. Martins, we show that mastering foraging on anthropogenic resources takes time. #WhiteStorks start using landfills soon after fledging, but need time to learn how to do it properly and the first year is key! 📌 doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #ornithology 🧪 🌍

I decided to start a collection of #iconicstorknests here on Bluesky. First nest is on a sign post in the Algarve near Portimão. @ueaceec.bsky.social @birdsmove.bsky.social and @whitestorkproject.bsky.social this is a good challenge for you!

One of our #WhiteStorks has some unusual neighbours… 😬 Right below its nest, we found an invasive Egyptian goose nest with 8 eggs! Egyptian geese are very loud and aggressive - not the best neighbours... So fingers crossed for a peaceful breeding season for our stork! #ornithology

A warm welcome to our new team member, João Paulino! João worked with birds in rice fields during his PhD (including #WhiteStorks) and is now joining our field efforts to monitor and track storks across southern Portugal! 🪶 #ornithology

Our first chicks have hatched! 🐣 Last week we welcomed the first hatchlings of the season. We’re looking forward to following their growth and seeing them fledge in a couple of months! #ornithology #ecology 🌍🧪 Photo: @anna-thompson.bsky.social

Have you seen the size of Infante’s nest?! 😮 #WhiteStorks add new nest material every year, and nests can become HUGE! Comparing Infante’s nest with the one on the left (which fell in 2025 and is still being rebuilt) really puts it into perspective.

New team member in the field! 🐦 This week we're welcoming PhD candidate @anna-thompson.bsky.social to the field! Anna is now monitoring #WhiteStork nests, collecting data for her PhD on individual determinants of variability in migratory behaviour. #ornithology @ueaenv.bsky.social

New #WhiteStork couple in town this year! 💕 Neville (RK+), 5-year-old female, is pairing up with T7+, a 3-year-old male. #ornithology

Meet the majestic White Stork!🕊️ From grasslands to pastures, this migratory bird flies across a range of open habitats. They flock in the hundreds and thousands when travelling along the African-Eurasian Flyway, using thermal updrafts to soar.🌍 Learn more👉 datazone.birdlife.org/species/fact...

The start of the field season also means seeing old friends again! This is Odiaxere (73+), an adult female we tracked with a GPS from 2018–2022, that is resident in southern Portugal. So good to see you again, Odiaxere! #WhiteStorks #ornithology #ecology 🌍🧪

What a patriotic stork! #WhiteStorks are known to bring human-made items to their nests (often with negative consequences – see our paper: tinyurl.com/58rupn7t). But this one brought a Portuguese flag! These chicks will get their first geography lesson as soon as they hatch! #ornithology

To mark the start of our new research project “Wings of Change: Unravelling the ontogeny of bird migratory behaviour in a changing world” we have a new logo for our Stork Research Group! The logo was beautifully designed by the talented Renata Reynaud.

Here we go again! 😍 Our team is back on the field to monitor our #WhiteStork colonies! Despite the heavy rains in Portugal, our storks have been busy re-building the nests and some already have near full clutches! #ornithology 🌍🧪

You still have a bit more than a week to submit your expression of interest! #PhD #birdmigration #Ornithology #Ecology 🌍🌱

Birds on the Move@birdsmove.bsky.social · 9mo ago

📢📢PhD opportunity! We are looking for enthusiastic researchers to develop a project looking at the ontogeny of migratory behaviour! Deadline for expression of interest: 8 February 2026 👉Check details here: drive.google.com/file/d/1wow2... #migration #ornithology #GPStracking

📢📢PhD opportunity! We are looking for enthusiastic researchers to develop a project looking at the ontogeny of migratory behaviour! Deadline for expression of interest: 8 February 2026 👉Check details here: drive.google.com/file/d/1wow2... #migration #ornithology #GPStracking

In our new paper led by Ursula Heize, we show that >90% of #WhiteStork nests have anthropogenic materials (plastics, paper, etc). Ropes are particularly dangerous: ~12% of the chicks became entangled on ropes, particularly on baler twine! Check out the paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A death trap in the nest: anthropogenic nest materials cause high mortality in a terrestrial bird

The impact of anthropogenic debris on wildlife, particularly in marine environments, has garnered significant attention in recent years due to the sev…

sciencedirect.com

Our baby #WhiteStorks are growing fast! We use a telecopic pole with a camera to monitor the storks' nest and assess breeding success! #ornithology

The breeding season is moving along nicely, and most #WhiteStork eggs have already hatched! Here is 5Y+, a 9-year-old male ringed as a chick in 2016, with his three hatchlings and two remaining eggs. #Ornithology

Storks are amazing birds. Tracking them for many years enabled us to find some cool stuff!

Journal of Animal Ecology@animalecology.bsky.social · last yr.

What drives the loss of migration in large long-lived birds? Andrade et al. combine genomics, census and tracking data of white storks, highlighting the role of developmental plasticity in driving fast responses to environmental conditions🪽 buff.ly/zIkvqRU @evopaa.bsky.social

Every year, fewer #WhiteStorks cross the Straits of Gibraltar on their annual migratory journey. In this paper, we unveil the mechanisms driving the recent and rapid loss of their migratory behaviour. 👉https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.70035

On the 27th of March, we welcomed our first #WhiteStork hatchlings! And one was still struggling to get out of the egg when we arrived!

It's pouring rain - we can't recall ever seeing this much water around our #WhiteStork nests! But they remain strong, and many clutches are now complete. Let's hope they can protect their eggs as more storms sweep across Portugal 🤞!

The white-stork 2025 field season just started! Some nests already with eggs despite the heavy rains and cold weather across Portugal. Looking forward to another breeding season!