Some extracts to the analysis with cover nets

Here are some passages from the analysis in Israel with Black Storks vs. cover nets....

In the Bet Shean and Jordan Valleys a total of 30 relevant netted fish ponds were controlled between 17 September and 11 October 2012:

Survey map: thick yellow edging = affected aquaculture in the Jordan Valley (thin yellow edging), thick red edging = affected aquaculture in the Bet Shean Valley (thin red edging). Both Valleys with a total fish pond area of 782 ha.

Netted fish pond with many and great horizontal touches in the water (example the yellow arrow) and big holes on the edge (see green arrow). The net to miss each tension. The red arrow indicates a dead Black Stork. Tirat Zvi (Bet Shean Valley), 08 October 2012.

Large Black Stork roost associations in Israel, like such as the Jordan Valley near Yardena, are in a constant interaction with the neighboring fish ponds. 03 October 2012.

Usually used three different large mesh-size in the studied Valleys and fish ponds (n = 30) with 10 cm, 13,5 cm and 15 cm. All mesh-size more than 2,5 cm of the cover nets are deadly for birds (incl. smaller birds, see the next figure). Newe Ur (Jordan Valley), 24 September 2012.

In future all nets in Israel must have a mesh-size smaller 3 cm! I found in the nets with a mesh size of 4 cm among other Night Heron, Little Bittern and Pied Kingfisher. Kfar Ruppin (Bet Shean Valley), 05 October 2012.

Relevant (here five of the six, red edging) fish ponds in aquaculture facility Gesher, Jordan Valley. 04 October 2012.

Black Stork migration in the Jordan Valley - Hamadya, 08 October 2012.

Bet Shean, a migration hub for Black Storks and connection of the Bet Shean- and Jezreel Valleys. Bet Shean, 08 October 2012.

Another heavy disturbance for Black Storks (blue arrow): An airplane (black arrow) is flying very low and very close to the fish ponds (yellow arrow), spraying pesticides (red arrow). Newe Ur (Jordan Valley), 23 September 2012.

The fish pond is not spanned with the net on top (red dotted line). Instead, the net got longer shirred lines which touches the surface of the water on the pond edges as well as the embankment and between the vegetation (see yellow arrows). Newe Ur (Jordan Valley), 23 September 2012.

Age distribution of the involved Black Storks in cover nets from 17 September - 11 October 2012 (n = 44).

Border to Jordan, 22 September 2012.

The fish pond is covered completely, but with dangerous holes (yellow arrows). In addition dangerous and unnecessary left-overs of nets on the embankment (red arrow). In the middle of the picture a dead Black Stork from first calendar year, Kfar Ruppin (Bet Shean Valley), 03 October 2012.

Recently killed Black Storks, captured on the accessible vertical side of the nets are an easy prey to Golden Jackal or Mongoose (left yellow arrow). There is also a dead Black Stork in the water (right yellow arrow). Both birds disappeared completely within two days! Newe Ur (Jordan Valley), 26 September 2012.

10 cm mesh-size is also deadly for Pied Kingfisher - 07 October 2010, Kfar Ruppin (Bet Shean Valley).

Black Stork video sequences Israel 2010-2012

You can use the video on YouTube at 720p (HD quality).
The first video clip shows the landing from the roost to the feeding sites near Newe Ur (Jordan Valley) on 3 October 2012. The second video clip shows the same place in autumn 2011:

The third video shows the beautiful bath of Black Storks near Hamadya (Jordan Valley) 2010:

A very nice Black Stork roost place in the Jordan Valley - one of five important places directly on the border with Jordan: 

Black Stork ringing report Germany 2012

2012 was indeed a very successful year for the Black Stork ringing in Germany.
In total, we banded 226 Black Storks in 2012!

The following overview shows all 835 banded Black Storks in Germany 2005-2012:

federal state	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	total
MV	21	27	27	36	31	20	22	15	199
HE	0	0	0	15	22	44	66	55	202
BB	9	5	6	4	4	8	26	11	73
SN	0	14	9	8	7	5	18	27	88
BY	0	0	0	0	9	23	19	13	64
TH	0	0	0	12	6	11	9	37	75
NRW	0	0	0	0	0	8	14	0	22
ST	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	8	22
BW	0	0	0	0	0	6	7	8	21
RP	0	0	0	0	0	4	8	49	61
SL	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	3	8
total	30	46	42	75	79	129	208	226	835

Black Stork ringers in Germany 2005-2012:

ringer	total banded BS
Dieter Hergott	78
Uwe Albrecht	21
Cliff Riesmeier	7
Mario Firla	8
Carsten Rohde	721

German "T356" - one of three nestlings - ringing on 5 June 2012 in Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania.

The German Black Stork colour-ring project will be finished by the end of 2015.

What a kind of oak! "T368", "T369" & "T370" - ringed on 6 June 2012 in the "Spree-Forest", Brandenburg.

Great! - four nice nestlings banded on 7 June 2012 near the Lake Constance region in Baden-Wuerttemberg.

2012: 226 juv. ringed = 7 x 5 juv., 23 x 4 juv., 28 x 3 juv., 6 x 2 juv., 3 x 1 juv.
(3,37 juv./ successful breeding).

Three important recoveries of ringed and alive German Black Storks in 2012:  

• one Black Stork in the second calendar year from Westerwald (Rhineland-Palatinate) wintering in Senegal 2012/13 - distance 4600 km 
• two Black Storks in the first calendar year from two different breeding places in Saxony go to the eastern routes, with a stop in Israel - distance 2750 km

The young BS "TTN" from Saxony with the dirty ring, fish ponds near the border to Jordan. Israel, 26 September 2012.

The other young Saxon BS "TMT" in the Beit Shean Valley near Tirat Zvi. Israel, 6 October 2012.

The young BS "T331" (see to the left one on the ground), ringed on 25 June 2011 in Brandenburg near the border to Poland (14°32' E!) - goes to the western route and wintering the second year in a row on the same location in Spain!

Two Black Storks ("T6H" and "T331") with different breeding places in Hesse and Brandenburg (see green trees) go the second time in a row at the same location in southern Spain to wintering (see red spots).