Conservation experts in Staffordshire, England, are hailing the birth of two baby storks, the first born in the region in over six centuries.
The births follow a similar effort in southern England to reintroduce the birds to the British Isles. There's also been some success in bringing back other long-gone bird species to the UK.
Before the first white stork reintroduction in 2020 in the Knepp Estate, Sussex, the last known stork breeding pair was on the roof of a cathedral in 1416, in Edinburgh, Scotland, per Rewilding Britain.
It's believed that a combination of excessive hunting and habitat loss drove the birds out. They prefer grasslands and wetlands for breeding, but Britain has seen a sharp decline in the latter through drainage and urbanization. Environmental historians estimate that as much as 25% of the entire British Isles was wetland areas. Today, it's more like 5%. Storks can play an essential role in future efforts to restore wetland areas in Britain.
According to the National Park Service, in the United States, a similar breed, the wood stork, is considered an indicator species of the overall health of crucial wetlands. Wetlands are a critical habitat for almost half of the world's species, protecting against flooding and serving as massive carbon sinks. Approximately a billion people worldwide depend on them for a living, according to Greenpeace.
Reintroducing a species to an area is a challenging process, but one that can significantly enhance the biodiversity of that area. Bringing back a long-gone species can have several unintended benefits.
For example, a long-discussed scheme to reintroduce wolves to the Scottish Highlands could remove over a million tons of carbon. The work highlights the critical importance of raising awareness of climate issues. The births of the white storks have members of Celtic Rewilding, the organization behind the project, excited and hopeful for the future.
Harvey Tweats, a fitting surname for a project to help birds, told the BBC: "We've assembled this flock here to try to breed this lost species in Staffordshire again … We've had two baby chicks hatch, under controlled conditions, and we're just really, really excited."
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