Migratory white storks stand resting inside their large, stick-built nest positioned securely on top of a tall wooden pole against a partly cloudy sky. (AA photo)
Two storks tracked with satellite transmitters from Türkiye’s northern province of Sinop reached Egypt and a third arrived in Syria as part of a multi-agency conservation project mapping migration routes.
The birds began their journeys in August. A stork departing on Aug. 27 traveled 650 kilometers to reach the Syrian city of Aleppo. The other two, leaving on Aug. 11 and Aug. 17, flew 1,500 and 1,200 kilometers respectively to Egypt, where they are currently resting to feed and regain strength.
The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s Nature Conservation and National Parks General Directorate attached the devices to three chicks hatched this year in the Cuma Plain. The effort falls under a population monitoring project launched in 2022 led by Sinop University. The project features contributions from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Ankara University and Saraydüzü Mehmet Akif Ersoy Anatolian High School.
Nature Conservation and National Parks 10th Regional Director Ali Bozkurt said his directorate has made significant contributions to the 5-year project, tracking the birds daily to gather vital information on their movements.
“We will be able to instantly see what routes our storks take, how long they stay and where they stop,” he said. “We will have obtained important data on this subject.”
Türkiye serves as a primary transit corridor for migratory birds traveling between Europe and Africa each year, with millions of birds passing over the Anatolian peninsula. Storks typically migrate south in late summer to escape plunging temperatures and find abundant food sources before returning in the spring to breed. Tracking helps officials protect habitats across international borders.
