Overview

• Storchenzentrum Bornheim reports roughly 85% of the state’s storks already en route to wintering grounds, with juveniles moving from late July and many adults leaving earlier than usual.
• The center links the timing shift to weeks of drought that degraded feeding conditions across key areas.
• This year’s breeding outcomes were somewhat better than 2024, which was the worst season since the 1997 reintroduction.
• Mold in wet nests caused numerous nestling deaths, while food scarcity pushed birds to irrigated fields and landfills and increased plastic-related fatalities recorded by care centers.
• Local distributions are shifting, with declines in established Pfalz colonies and rising numbers in the Eifel, Hunsrück and Westpfalz, plus regular foraging sightings in the Pfälzerwald.