Here comes the White Stork!

Oh, hi there!

After our neighbours told us about a little lake called Lützelsee which is not far away from here we decided to pay it a visit. I never heard about this lake and I was surprised that we have another lake within reach. Well, “little” was the right word, because it was rather a bigger pond than a lake. But that’s no tragedy, size doesn’t matter when you have a special attraction: White storks!
Please read more under the cut.


The day was marvellous! The sun shone bright and it was not too hot. We were promised white storks so I had my eyes opened wide, scanning the area around us. Soon there were some white spots in the fields, hungry white storks searching some food. But the storks were clever and didn’t come too close to the path we walked. I was a little disappointed. At first I was so concerned to get some good photos of the white storks in the field that I didn’t notice the nesting tree right to the path. It was gorgeous! A big tree with at least eight big nests! In each nest was a parent and there were fledglings, too! That was one amazing view.

There was a resettlement in 1987 by the Lützelsee and since then the white stork population grew every year. Even on the roof top of the farm house near of the big nesting tree were two nests! These birds are really impressive - so huge and with such a long orange beak. It would be cool to find a feather or a part of an egg of a white stork.

Skull comparison: white stork and blackbird.

White storks are migratory birds. Every autumn they fly back to Africa. Some white storks stay here or hibernate in Spain or Portugal. We all think that white storks belong to the wet lands because here, in our area, they love to be by a pond. But look at their feet: they are made for walking in savannas or dry areas, unlike the heron, which looks similar to the white stork.

What a big nest!

If you visit Zurich one time you should definitely go to the Lützelsee! In summer you also can go swimming there ^^