Storks no longer migrate to Africa in winter, they now prefer Spain

In the seventies, the entire European stork population used to migrate to Africa in winter. 

In autumn, their instinct led them to the Sahel which is mainly Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. Nowadays, most of the adult specimens from Spain (80%) and Central Europe have shortened the route and do not leave the peninsula or, at most, reach the north of Morocco. 

The only ones who keep the tradition intact are the younger species and they only do so until they reach maturity and by then they have already learned that it is not worth facing the dangers of migration of thousands of kilometres. A new research paper titled, Migration and Spatial Ecology of the White Stork in Spain presented corroborated this change in behaviour that has been detected for decades.

The organization has gathered data from more than three million locations, where these magical birds are found during breeding, wintering and migrating seasons. 

"The information collected clearly shows a change in the migration strategy of white storks in Western Europe," the researchers indicated. 

Behind these habit changes, a more benign climate appears and, above all, the modification to which man has subjected the territory with the creation of new habitats. Macro-waste dumps have become the stork's favourite places to feed: they always find food, whether its summer or winter. 

"Almost all capital cities have immense dumps that attract and target stork populations, taking advantage of all the small fauna associated with these places in addition to eating the remains of what they find," explains Ana Bermejo, head of migration at SEO/BirdLife. They also feed in the rice fields, which now occupy "huge areas". 

In the past, storks in Spain travelled an average of 2,500 kilometres to reach the Sahel and as many kilometres back, in search of the food that was in short supply in winter. Some continue to change places, those from the north of Spain move south, for example, but not much more than that. So, they avoid crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, a dangerous place for these large birds as they need thermal currents to move. "They can flap their wings for a while, but they have a hard time with their weight [an average of 3.5 kilos] so they can fall into the sea and die," adds Bermejo.

The second obstacle they face is the Sahara desert, with no food, no easy stops and sandstorms to avoid it is a risky journey, which means that only 9.5% of the young born in Spain that leaves the nest and begins the migration to Africa survive the first year, while in the Central European specimens the survival rate rises to 47.8%. 

In the case of the second year of life, manages to get ahead 50% of Spanish natives and 63% of Central Europeans, the study concludes.

The European specimens have the advantage of having shortened the trip - they renounce the Sahel and opt for Spain or northern Morocco-. In their current migration, they undertake a journey of around 1,500 km out and as many return journeys - previously there were 5,000 - and do not cross the desert. Less distance, less danger and more survival.