NewsHail
25 May 2025
An estate south of Horsham, West Sussex, is now the UK’s first ‘European Stork Village.’ This happened because 12 baby storks were born there. Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, a biologist, leads the White Stork Project.
The chicks live in four nests on the ground. Knepp Wilding watches over them as part of the project.
The nests were made by stork parents that cannot fly. These birds were hurt in the wild. They were saved by Warsaw Zoo and kept safe at Cotswold Wildlife Park.
The babies live in a pen that keeps predators out. The pen is open at the top. This lets the young birds fly free. Other storks can also visit them, said the White Stork Project.
Ms. Vaughan-Hirsch said the project began in 2016. It is part of a bigger plan to bring storks back to southern England.
Storks died out in the UK over 600 years ago. People changed their homes and made it hard for storks to live.
Last year, nine stork chicks grew up and left Knepp. Some flew all the way to Morocco, said a project spokesperson.
This shows that even with a hard start, young storks want to explore and travel.
The project says some nests can be very big. They can be nearly 2 meters tall and wide.
Becca Bowie from the project said storks pick nests that are easy to use. Each nest looks a bit different, she said.
Staff and helpers watch the chicks closely. They also track how the birds grow.
