It's hard to believe, but the bird is already 21 years old, making it the leader of the species, experts have no knowledge of such an old, ringed black stork.
The bird was tagged by Béla Kalocsa in Hercegszántó in 2003, while it was still a chick, and the plastic tag that can be read from afar has since provided a lot of information about the stork. The number 5082 has already been read 11 times, once in Israel, the Hortobágy National Park Administration wrote
The fact that it has been returning for so long is also a success of practical nature conservation, since this black stork has been returning to its favorite nesting place for many years, in the Közé-Tisza Landscape Conservation District, where, as a result of the protection of nesting and feeding sites, suitable living conditions await. That is why it is important to protect its habitat, which is our joint responsibility, even our duty
they wrote.
The photos were taken by civil conservationist Tamás Hajdú and nature conservation guard Gábor Nagy, and it was written in the article that the old bird was a bit weathered, it seems that the years have taken their toll on the specially protected Methuselah-age bird. His feathers are worn, he has already lost some of his toes, and his ring is broken. And if it returns next year, they will also give the bird a name.
This bird deserves to be voted on and named in the spring. Let's hope that we can do it and then we can not only refer to the iconic black stork as 5082.
The black stork is our highly protected bird species. Its conservation value is HUF 500,000.
Featured image: Photo: Gábor Nagy/ Hortobágy National Park Directorate
