Black Stork wintering in Albania

Black Stork in the Vlora Salt Creek

 The Ornithological Friday observations of November 20, 2020, have been "decorated" by the presence of a juvenile Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in the Vlora Salt Creek. Based on the information so far, this is the first report of black stork wintering in Albania.

Cases of black stork overwintering, although not very common, have been reported more and more often in Europe as in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). Black storks can overwinter in groups but also solitary individuals. During the winter they use the morning hours when the light intensity and temperature are higher.

The main diet consists of fish usually caught near water currents where even the food is more abundant. The hunt lasts about 6 hours and then their metabolism decreases significantly to cope with the cold night. In adults, the amount of food is also reduced from 500-750 g of food during the summer to 530 g during the winter.

One of the main reasons for Black Stork overwintering, as well as the Stork (Ciconia ciconia), maybe climate change, with increasingly mild winter seasons allowing for optimal food and temperatures to survive the winter in Europe.

Finally, an appeal to the managing authorities of the Vlora Saltworks is to be careful if they encounter this species as mentioned above it is quite shy and does not tolerate the high human presence..