If you have been following the evolution of the storks in Sarralbe via the dedicated Webcam, you probably have noticed one of them has gone.

In fact it took its 1st flight today July 2nd at 12:05. Will it come back to the nest? Apparently they do if they do not get lost.

Four of the five chicks have had GPS trackers fixed to them so it will be possible to follow their movements and future flight paths. I have to find out how.

For the past week or so, the chicks are left alone. Both parents are away all day and only come back for feeding time once in the morning and once in the evening. The female usually spends the night on the nest before going hunting again.

I wonder what will her reaction be this evening when she flies back and find one of the chicks missing…

In case you are interested, I have looked for and found more details on this family:

The parents are called Mélodie and Maurice.

The 1st chick “Thomas” was born on April 23rd around 11:25am

The 2nd chick “Lorraine” on April 24th around 1:15am. Lorraine is the one who flew for the 1st time earlier today. Thomas has been trying but has some missing feathers…

The 3rd one “France Bleu” also on the 24th around 5:15am

The 4th one “Mirabelle” on April 26 around 3am

The 5th one “Chanel” (because he is #5) on April 27th around 9:05pm

In the meantime all the chicks have been tagged on their legs and with the exception of Chanel who was too small, all have been fitted with a GPS tracker.