White Storks - Netherlands / Beleef de Lente

[Kinderchick]

As if I'm going to buy a baby card with a stork carrying an infant ever again.

Ewww! Hadn't thought about the image, irenekl. But now that you mention it...

[irenekl]

As if I'm going to buy a baby card with a stork carrying an infant ever again.

[birdcamfan]

Gaah! That was just plain ugly!

[Kinderchick]

Once again, very sad. Nice to at least hear that the chick was given a proper burial.

[susha]

Well.  Mom killed another chick today   There's a clip of it, but I won't watch.  According to the blog, she just picked it up and tossed it out of the nest.  The chick was examined and it had no food in its crop, indicating that perhaps it had no appetite due to being sick.  Another horrible illustration of survival of the fittest.  The good folks over there buried the little one...

[Kinderchick]

Thanks for your perspective on this, susha. I know it's all part of nature and preserving the species, but I still can't watch a mother killing her chick. Too tough on my poor little heart strings. 

[susha]

I couldn't watch them for awhile either, but kept checking in on the nest for a few minutes every few days.  I had a tough time getting the image out of my head of seeing the mom grab the baby out of the nest and certainly wouldn't be able to watch her kill it (I think they have a clip of it on the site).  But it's nature.  She did it because that's what storks do to keep the family healthy and strong.  Just as killing beautiful shore birds and other birds we like (pigeons are also quite beautiful I think) is what our falcons do to feed themselves and their young.  I won't watch those killings either.  It seems worse in this case because it's a mom and her baby, but other animal moms kill their sick infants or leave them behind to die as Lily the black bear did two years with Jason.  It was heartbreaking to watch Lily walk away from her sick cub.  And we all know what a wonderful mom Lily has been.  So I'm back to enjoying the storks

[Kinderchick]

Very sad. I can't watch these storks anymore either, irenkl.

[irenekl]

Ahh shoot.  Susha she did finally pull the youngest chick out of the nest, killed it and ate it.  I kept that cam up on my screen while I did other things on the computer and for hours she pecked & picked on everyone in the nest.  It was driving me nuts.  It appeared that anytime one fell asleep she promptly woke it.   Not sure of course that this is what she was doing but whatever it was it went on and on and on.  After years of observing these storks I have never seen behaviour like that. Usually the siblings pick on the youngest/weakest chick until it dies and then it is dumped over the side by a parent. 

I think I need to make the decision not to watch this nest. 

[susha]

I've been enjoying watching this family so much...but just now, mama stork has been picking away at the smallest baby and just pulled him away from the others...had to turn it off before seeing anything else.  I know that she might kill it...that's what they do.  But I can't watch it happening and don't want to think about it :

Maybe she was just pulling him away to give him some individual attention and when I go back, there will still be four active, healthy stork chicks...

Somehow, I don't think so...

[susha]

From the blog on the stork page:

2235h - Pampering ....

That's what I call pampering, almost the entire day, both dad and mom spoils us by standing next to the nestkom and give us the chicks. Stunning image With the sun right into the nestkom, this afternoon I the boy sitting in the sun slept saw. For just as in small children also need small stork little much sleep and food to be great.
 
In order to devote himself to the fact that there is not enough food for the young storks were a newspaper article I find some premature. Why? because this week and the weeks pass storks will be born. And there can not be a shortage! Absolutely still The first few days that children often eat earthworms, which are really still plentiful in the Netherlands.
 
Mother tried this afternoon even a frog, but just in time she slurped himself but, imagine yourself if they would have. Eaten a young I should not think. Besides tonight there was American (red) crayfish on the menu.
 
Tomorrow (today) the last young? Engbert

So looks like they might have enough food to go around and will not have to "eliminate" any youngsters...

[Kinderchick]

On a lighter note, what a beautiful looking bird that Mama Stork is! Lalalalala. (toe tapping included)

[susha]

And there's a fourth!  You just know whats coming.

 

[irenekl]

And there's a fourth!  You just know whats coming.

[birdcamfan]

Amazingly, these 3 eggs all hatched on the same day!