A couple of storks living on Feldman Ecopark’s Swan Lake are hatching the eggs in their nest. Last autumn, these birds were brought by the residents of Kharkiv oblast to the Centre for Wild, Exotic and Domestic Animals Rescue “Good Home.”
“This couple – a male and a female – were brought to us separately from different regions of our oblast, but the reason was the same. They were weak due to the injury or illness, and were not able to fly away together with their congeners to spend winter in warm countries. They could probably die, but thanks to the kind people, they survived, spent winter here, they were fed properly, became stronger and made a couple. So, they will produce offspring soon, and we are watching and help them when they need it,” the head of the Birds department in Feldman Ecopark Volodymyr Perekhodovych told.
According to his words, there are four storks on Swan Lake now – one female and three males. When a couple appeared as the result of mating strategies, the workers of Feldman Ecopark helped to make a nest for these birds.
“We noticed that the roof of a heated container for the swans, where they were able to spend night during winter frosts, had been chosen by our mating couple, so we constructed there a base from twigs. After that, the birds started to work themselves and made their own family nest. In the beginning of May, the female laid eggs, and it is normal for the storks. Now they hatch them by turns. It is very interesting to watch this “changing of the guard.” While one bird is in the nest, the other one hunts frogs and lizards. But we feed them with fish and fresh meat as well. We are waiting for the nestling – according to the terms and signs, it must happen in the beginning of June,” Volodymyr Perekhodovych shared his observations.
It should be reminded that Swan Lake is a unique natural complex for water birds, which exists in Feldman Ecopark for two years. Here, on one of the Three Lakes, 10 pelicans, 30 swans, 4 storks and several tens of wild ducks of different species are living in natural environment and under the supervision of animal keepers. Some of these birds were rescued and currently undergo rehabilitation successfully thanks to the Centre for Wild, Exotic and Domestic Animals Rescue “Feldman Ecopark Good Home.” It should be noted that the Centre’s development is a part of charitable campaign “The Art of Mercy.”
