First returnee

Stork “fired up the turbo” on its flight to Marchegg

The first feathered "returnee" of the year approaching Marchegg(Bild: Michael Stelzhammer/WWF)

They are the feathered harbingers of spring - the storks. The first stork of the season has already landed in Marchegg. A week earlier than last year. Experts are watching this with concern. They see the increasingly early return of migratory birds from the south as a consequence of climate change. And this is also threatening stork habitats in Lower Austria. 

This stork really is a record flyer. One week earlier than last year and three weeks earlier than was usual for many years, it has now landed as the first "returnee" at the WWF's outdoor reserve in Marchegg, Gänserdorf district.

Fastest "long-distance flyer"
"It has clearly outpaced its fellow species on the approximately 10,000-kilometre journey from its wintering grounds to here," explains Jurrien Westerhof. Incidentally, the Adebar was already the fastest long-distance flyer last year: "We recognized it by its ring," says the WWF species conservation expert.

Spring cleaning in nests
Westerhof attributes the fact that the storks are apparently returning to the March earlier and earlier to the mild winters. In any case, the storks in Marchegg have plenty to do in the coming weeks despite their earlier "arrival". "They are now preparing their old nests in the oak trees for the breeding season, which begins in April," explains the WWF expert.

More breeding pairs in Marchegg
Last year was a good one for the Marchegg stork colony: 43 pairs of birds successfully bred here, six more than in 2022. The WWF staff were able to count a total of 92 young birds. This year, the nests on the trees and on the roof of Marchegg Castle are therefore being closely monitored to see whether the positive trend in the reserve continues. The birds find favorable living conditions here. Westerhof: "This makes it easier for the storks to find food and leads to a relatively high breeding success." 

The floodplains need more water again so that they can remain a habitat for storks outside of Marchegg.

Jurrien Westerhof, WWF-Artenschutzexperte

Consequences of climate change
However, the feathered heralds of spring do not feel so at home everywhere in the Weinviertel. Last year, only six pairs of storks bred in the upper March-Thaya floodplains, whereas at the best times in the mid-1990s there were 35 between Bernhardsthal and Angern alone. Expert Jurrien Westerhof sees this as a result of climate change: "Less snow falls here in winter, which means there are no spring floods. However, this changes the entire floodplain ecosystem."