In recent weeks, in the area of the Turčianska basin, in accordance with the cooperation agreement between the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, the affected municipalities and Stredoslovenská distribučná a.s., the relocation of stork nests to separate standing poles with nesting pads from an active 22 kV line has been carried out. The date of the planned works was already critical, but due to protective measures in connection with COVID-19, it was not possible to carry out the work on the agreed dates. In the end, however, we were glad that we managed to relocate three nests this season. We have thus solved the very problem of placing new (last year’s nests) directly on the electric pole, which were in direct contact with the electric wires, which could be a potential cause of an emergency situation and interruption of the electricity supply. Alternatively, the nesting material could also catch fire and burn out the nest. On the municipal land of the villages of Valča, Rakovo and Dubové, the Central Slovakian Distribution Company a.s. installed free-standing concrete pillars, on which we placed special nesting pads with a well-prepared string. A sufficiently and precisely made nest string is a guarantee of success even in later transshipment dates. Storks do not have to spend a lot of energy on building a new nest, they practically only line the nesting basin and can start laying. The nest prepared in this way will be gratefully and gladly accepted. In some cases, in the past, we also had to use plastic “balabáns” (PVC dummy storks) to move the couple to a new nest. Often, the bond to the original nest is very strong and the birds repeatedly load the building material to the place from where the original nest was removed. In such cases, barriers are also used to prevent the re-deposition of nesting material on the original nest. In practice, it has proven to be a good idea to spray the newly prepared nests with white paint. In storks, this evokes splashes of white droppings and thus evokes a sense of trust and security in the belief that the new nest has already been installed.
We would like to thank the Central Slovakian Distribution Company a.s., the municipalities of Valča, Rakovo and Dubové for their cooperation. We firmly believe that despite the cut-off dates, the storks welcomed our help and will successfully use the three new nests for many years, as is the case with other relocated nests in Turiec.
Nest on an active 22 kV line in Valča.
The stork inspects the newly installed nesting mat with string. ( Waltz )
Reloading of the nest in Valča.
Reloading of the nest in Rakov.
Reloading of the nest in Dubovo.
Nesting in Krpeľany. A plastic “balaban” to attract a male who did not show interest in a 300 m relocated nest. After using the “blabán”, there was an immediate reaction.
Text: Ing. Juraj Žiak
Photo: Ing. Mária Apfelová, Ing. Juraj Žiak, Peter Kraus
