The aim of the census is to track changes in the population and breeding success of the white stork in Latvia, to explain their causes, and to track changes in the location and foundations of nests.
Māra Janaus, White Stork Monitoring Manager, explained that there is a 'stork' difference between how many storks nest in Latvia and how many stay. Currently, about 13-14 thousand pairs nest, but in summer we also have a large number of non-breeding storks - those that have not yet reached sexual maturity and just wander around in flocks, looking for food-rich places. "These flocks can be huge - from a few birds to around 2000," said Janaus.
Everyone recognizes the white stork, so this call to take part in the White Stork Census is also seen as socially important, as it draws attention to the state of the environment and the protection of nature.
"Why is it necessary? Firstly, the species itself needs to be monitored. Secondly, white storks are an excellent indicator of the quality of the environment - if there are a lot of white storks, it means that the environment is more or less OK too," she said.
The response from people has been really good and already a significant number of white stork nests have been counted and recorded.
Since the beginning of the year, 2,517 nests have been counted on the website "Dabasdati.lv".
So - if you are planning to go outdoors or have seen a white stork nest near your house, register on "dabasdati.lv", download the "Dabasdati" app on your phone and report the stork nest you see according to the features available there, preferably with additional notes and a photo. Or you can find information on the Latvian Ornithological Society's website under "Count the White Storks".
You can see where the storks and their nests might be on the map on the Latvian Ornithological Society's website.
