Shock in the Waldviertel

Storks were “delogated” from their nesting site

Storks often nest on ÖBB masts, as here in Perg.(Bild: ÖBB)

Concerned residents are up in arms because they were prevented from building a nest on an ÖBB radio mast. But the railroad company has created a replacement home for Master Adebar. 

Excitement among animal lovers in Schwarzenau in the Waldviertel region: ÖBB has been trying by all means to drive a pair of storks away from their nesting site on a transmission mast near the railroad station, which they only moved into in 2021. "The nest was simply torn down last year. But the storks were not deterred and simply built a new one," reports a local resident about the perseverance of the well-traveled migratory birds.

In Schwarzenau, however, a "defensive construction" is intended to prevent the nest from being built(Bild: zVg)

(Bild: zVg)

But even Master Adebar's new summer quarters had no future. This year, the stork pair were "delogated" before their arrival. "The nest was torn down. And this time, ÖBB even mounted a pyramid-shaped defense device on the pole," it says.

The "Krone" got to the bottom of these measures. "Our radio masts are obviously very popular with storks," explains ÖBB spokesman Christopher Seif. However, the affected location in Schwarzenau is in the immediate vicinity of a high-voltage overhead line and the structure cannot support the weight of the increasingly heavy nest.

 In addition, the nesting site was located directly above the station entrance, which was therefore partially closed in the past two years: "Passengers always had to watch out for 'luck from above'. And our technology on the radio mast also suffered from the soiling," says Seif.

New accommodation
However, ÖBB has erected a new mast 500 meters away, on which the storks can breed in peace. "Nature conservation experts were even called in," says the railroad company. In the meantime, it has been reported that the storks in the region are already returning to their nests. So we can only hope that the stork couple from Schwarzenau will also accept their new "home".