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Autumn Migration 2024At the start of August, 33 storks from Cotswold Wildlife Park were released at Knepp, after being looked after at CWP since hatching and brought down to Knepp just over a week before. This marked the beginning of an incredible journey for these birds, as well as the 53 white storks that fledged from 19 Knepp nest this year. All of these birds were ringed, and 9 in total had satellite tags deployed on them, thanks to generous support from funders.
By August 13th, the storks were already making their way across the southeast of England. A sighting from Chillenden, Kent, reported over 40 storks feeding in freshly cut wheat fields. (Photo on the right). This was followed by sightings of a large flock, numbering 63 storks, observed by locals just a short distance from where storks had been seen the previous year.
On August 14th 70 storks were seen flying in a westerly direction over the Arundel wetlands. That same day, another group of around 20 storks was spotted circling near The Brushmakers Arms pub in Upham, Hampshire. Some of these storks, identified by their blue rings, were confirmed to be from Knepp.
By August 19th, the movement spread further west, as storks reached Cornwall, with GBL6 among the leading birds. Reports from the 20th confirmed sightings of over 70 storks together, including the ‘Issy’ from the Knepp live camera nest, named by Shipley Primary School.
As the storks explored Cornwall, according to reports, some birds began to break away from the larger group. By August 23rd, wind conditions favoured the storks, prompting birds to begin their journey across the English Channel. GBL6 became the first to make the crossing on August 25th, reaching Belgium the following day.
August ended with more reports of large stork flocks moving across the south of England. A group of around 40 storks was seen near Battle on August 28th, which included a mix of Knepp and CWP birds. However, the main flock seemed to have split into smaller groups, with one part roosting in Northbourne and another near Battle. Although GBL6 was the only confirmed stork to have crossed the channel by this point, satellite tags continued to provide valuable insights.
On August 26th, tag data showed GBR7, a male from CWP, took a different route, crossing over to the Isle of Wight rather than continuing west with the others. Meanwhile, sightings confirmed a large group of 38 storks flying southeast over the Royal Eastbourne Golf Course and out to sea, with GBL5 among them. By August 29th, GBL5 had made it across the Channel, continuing her migration south.
The start of September saw storks continuing their movement. On September 2nd, both GBL5 and GBL6 remained the only two confirmed birds to have crossed the channel. Unfortunately, GBL6’s satellite tag stopped transmitting around the 2nd, and it was assumed that she did not survive. GBL5, however, continued her journey and by September 10th was spotted in France, joining a group of over 200 storks near a lake, as reported by Doug, a volunteer monitoring their migration. His photos (above) captured a gathering of at least 275 storks, likely heading towards southern Europe.
At this point, GBR7, a male from CWP, remained in Cornwall by himself, and GBR8, another CWP bird, was spotted near Corfe Castle (photo below) at the end of August.
On September 17th, the first white stork from this year’s migration, GBL9, a male from a ground nest at Knepp was confirmed to have reached Morocco.
By the second half of September, most of the tracked birds were in similar positions, with some storks still in the UK and others well into their journey across Europe. Reports continued to trickle in, including a sighting of GBR7 still in Cornwall by the start of November.
By mid November, we were excited to hear news of another project stork over in Morocco (GBJ8) which makes it the sixth stork seen in Kenitra since the autumn migration this year.
Piecing together the story so far of this year’s migration has been possible thanks to data from satellite trackers, public sightings, and volunteer contributions. We’re enormously grateful to everyone for contributing towards learning more about these impressive journeys.
We’re expecting storks to start returning to our colony from the end of February onwards and we’re already looking forward to learning more about their movements next year. To find out more about the migration, check out the live map under ‘our storks’ to view the journeys of some of the tagged birds.
