Short abstract from the book: In Denmark the white stork population has experienced a dramatic decrease from around 4,000 breeding pairs in the late
nineteenth century to a single pair in 2004. The first white
stork was ringed in Denmark in 1901 by H.C.C. Mortensen
and since then most of the Danish population has been ringed. The birds departed from Denmark in August–September
on two alternate routes going either SW or SE. About 70 %
of the ringed birds are recovered on the southeastern route
crossing eastern Europe, Turkey, Syria and Jordan to Africa.
Since 1970 more birds have been recovered on the southwestern route. The main winter quarters of Danish white storks
are Africa south of the Sahara, from Kenya through Tanzania
and Zimbabwe to South Africa. The final destination of the
Danish white storks using the southwestern route is not well
known. The birds arrive at their winter quarters from early
November, i.e. two months after leaving Denmark. Birds
leave Africa in February, and in March the mean position is
northern Africa. By the end of March and start of April the
birds have returned to their breeding sites. Some immature
birds are recovered in Africa and in southern Europe during
summer. Since 1980 many white storks hatched in Denmark
have started to breed in Germany.
A major known cause of death of ringed white storks is
collision with overhead wires, mainly in Denmark and most
often by young birds. The second most frequent cause of death
is hunting.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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