White stork … Flight for Survival

As the famous bearer of newborn babies to expecting parents, the White stork is a widely beloved symbol of good luck. Instantly recognisable, with its black-tipped white feathers and long red beak and legs, it is a familiar sight across Europe where it commonly lives close to humans, perched high upon trees, poles or village rooftops. After painstakingly constructing huge nests with gathered sticks, migrating pairs often return to the same nest year after year.

 

MIGRATION: A flight for survival

White storks migrate in spectacular flocks numbering thousands. With their huge wings, they soar upon rising warm air currents to altitudes of 1500 m and then simply glide over huge distances. Since these warm currents do not form over water, storks travelling between Europe and Africa avoid the Mediterranean Sea, diverting via the Bosporus in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west.

Yet there are other dangers. Migrating flocks, weak and exhausted by their epic journey, are particularly vulnerable to collision with overhead powerlines and the threat of illegal shooting along their migration routes.

Storks taking the eastern route across the African-Eurasian flyway risk a highly dangerous crossing over Lake Qaraoun – an illegal shooting blackspot in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. At the height of migration season, hundreds of thousands of storks soar over Lebanese skies within a few short days. Every year, many thousands make it no further.

 

 

 

Stichting BirdLife Europe and BirdLife International gratefully acknowledge financial support from the MAVA Foundation, the EU LIFE programme, the European Commission and Vogelbescherming Nederland (BirdLife Netherlands).
All content and opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of Stichting BirdLife Europe.
“Flight for Survival” is partially funded by the LIFE Against Bird Crime project. More information is available here.

Al Hima Magazine 6th Issue

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) has released the sixth issue of Al Hima magazine, focusing on the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi (October 8–15, 2025), where SPNL will join four key sessions. The issue features an exclusive interview with IUCN President Razan Al Mubarak, who emphasizes aligning IUCN’s work with global biodiversity agendas, governance, member responsiveness, multilateral engagement, ethical use of technology, and amplifying diverse voices.

Read Previous issues

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