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Hansi the stork: From Loburg into the world – an adventure of the heart!
A stork named Hansi overcomes challenges in Altötting. His story shows the learned migratory behavior of storks.
Hansi the stork: From Loburg into the world – an adventure of the heart!
On August 5, 2013, a fascinating journey began for a little stork named Hansi in Loburg, Brandenburg. Equipped with a GPS transmitter, Hansi became the smallest and youngest of 60 storks that received such technical support this year. Like Bavarian Radio reported, Hansi regularly transmits his location to a team of researchers from the Loburg Bird Sanctuary, the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Research and a university in Israel. Thanks to this collaboration, science is getting a precise picture of Hansi's path.
On his adventures he went to the Czech Republic with a group of storks, while others were already heading to Africa. During a stopover, Hansi flew over Innsbruck and finally landed in the Inn Valley, where he got stuck in an Alpine valley. Suddenly the transmitter's signal disappeared, and the scientists feared that misfortune had struck Hansi.
The unexpected winter in Bavaria
But Hansi surprised everyone: In the winter, the station began transmitting signals again from Winhöring near Altötting, Bavaria. There he was cared for from a farm where the farmers provided him with organic meat and even a warm foot bath every day. This was an important moment for the biologists because through Hansi's life story they confirmed a crucial insight: the migratory behavior of storks is not innate, but learned culturally.
Hansi and his extraordinary winter will be reported on in the podcast “Nameless Heroes – Biographies from the Wilderness” in the ARD audio library from August 30th. His case impressively shows that storks are able to flexibly adapt their migration routes and behavior.
New perspectives through satellite telemetry
Hansi's story is not just an isolated case, but part of a larger research movement. Satellite telemetry, which allows scientists to “migrate” with migratory birds, opens up completely new dimensions in bird migration research. This technique, as well as on the Storchenhof Loburg website described, provides detailed insights into the migration of storks. Over 35,000 white stork ring finds have already been documented, which enormously expands the research possibilities.
The tracking of the birds extends from Central Europe to the southern tip of Africa and allows the general public to take part in the stork migration and track the birds. It is debated that storks migrate to Central Africa by different routes and that they may return by the opposite route if they encounter flocks of other populations.
Insights into the migration of storks
Another aspect of research into stork migration can also be seen in the latest findings gained from the use of mini-transmitting devices powered by solar cells. Studies have shown that a male white stork from East Germany traveled about 10,000 kilometers to its winter quarters in Central Africa. There was interesting migration behavior, which also supports the hypothesis of a U-shaped migration, as on the TAU website executed.
In summary, Hansi's story is just one piece of a larger puzzle that teaches us more about the adaptability and migratory behavior of these fascinating birds. A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated researchers and farmers who have helped ensure this species can continue to thrive.