The cold and wet spring in the Netherlands this year has proven fatal for this year’s stork hatchlings.
In the Rhee area in the province of Drenthe, four dead stork youth have been found. In a preserve near Meppel, eight dead storks have been found.
Storks live in open nests, which means that adverse weather will affect the nests directly. Parent birds try to protect their young but in not leaving the nest they are unable to feed the hatchlings. Either the exposure to the extreme cold and wet, or lack of food can prove fatal to young, growing birds.
The problem has struck stork nests all over the country. Experts expect more dead stork youth will be discovered in the coming days and weeks.
