WOOD STORKS
Now, some may think that only its mother could love the face of a wood stork. Well, I must have been a mother stork in some past incarnation because I absolutely love, love, love these gentle-eyed big fellas. To see them fly and land so gracefully is an awesome sight! Their wide wing span is mainly white and tipped with black feathers.
Juvenile Storks have a yellowish beak that develops into a black, mottled, textured look as the Stork matures.
They’re not too afraid of people in their presence and will willingly share food and hang-out spots with other winged souls like these here at Ding Darling, Sanibel Island.
They’ve been given the nickname “Preacherbirds” because of their solemn stance. I’d like to add “Mentor” to that tag as I imagine them giving kindly advice to their smaller buddies.
The Wood Stork is an endangered species. Our wetlands have been adversely affected by overdevelopment and so, too, has the stork population. In recent years here, we’ve been a little alarmed that their breeding numbers have severely declined because of drought factors and their breeding timetable. While some may say that environmentalists are over-cautious about bird population decline and the dangers of overdevelopment, we rely heavily on our wetlands. We all need to be diligent in protecting and respecting the miracle that is nature. Click here for a Wood Stork gallery