Bird migration is an adaptation to the unlivable seasonal environmental changes. Most migratory birds show winter migration from the northern cooler breeding habitats to the southern warmer wintering grounds. Migration is a perilous journey during which birds expose to a wide range of threats most of them are human-induced.
The White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are large soaring migratory birds which breed mainly in Europe and prefer to build their nests near human settlements. Although public in Europe like white storks and protect their nests because they are thought to be of good luck, they suffer from habitat degradation and lack of suitable places to build nests, so they decline in numbers. White storks migrate to spend their winter in Africa or India. During migration they pass through many countries and expose to hunting because of its large size and soaring flight.
One of the countries through which white storks pass is Egypt, where they stop at wetlands of Ras Mohammed Protected Area and Sharm El Sheikh. Ras Mohammed is considered a safe refuge for migratory birds, but the situation is very different in Sharm El Sheikh where you can see garbage collected from hotels is disposed in the dump sites in desert and hundreds of tired and hungry birds like Storks forage in it. A large number of storks are found injured due to broken glasses, competition with each other or as a result of colliding with the maze of powerlines. Sadly Sharm El Sheikh is needed to be a more "stork friendly" place. |
