Five young storks ringed in Traisen: First "official appointment" on the town hall roof

The ringing itself was carried out by bird expert Karin Donnerbaum. For this work, she was lifted high up to the nest on the town hall roof. "With great skill, she fitted the feathered young stars with their individual leg rings," the municipality reports. The action took place recently and, according to the municipality, was also accompanied by a TV livestream from the broadcaster OE24.

Karin Donnerbaum in action

Each ring bears a unique code that guarantees reliable re-identification of the individual birds. "Jeder Ring trägt einen eindeutigen Code, der eine verlässliche Wiedererkennung garantiert," the municipality explained. In this way, the animals can be identified beyond doubt over many years, even if they later move on to other regions.

According to the municipality, the data collected via the rings allows researchers to draw conclusions about the storks' way of life. "Anhand der Daten lassen sich später die genauen Zugrouten, das Alter der Tiere sowie ihre bevorzugten Lebensräume nachvollziehen," it says. The ringing in Traisen thus provides a small building block for a bigger picture of the population in Central Europe.

What the rings reveal

The measure also helps experts keep track of the animals' numbers over many years. Long-term data sets of this kind are the foundation in ornithology for identifying changes in migration behavior, breeding areas, and population sizes. The municipality of Traisen therefore sees the stork family on its roof as ambassadors for species conservation in the region.

Good wishes for the freshly ringed birds come from the Traisen municipal office: "Wir wünschen unseren fünf jungen Störchen einen guten Start ins Leben und viele sichere Flugkilometer," it says. With the ringing, the first official act in the life of the young storks is complete – their first flight and later their first migration southward now lie ahead.

Wishes from the municipal office

The market town of Traisen has been committed to the storks on its town hall roof for some time and regularly makes the animal visitors a topic in local communications. The ringing on the town hall roof is part of this initiative. The municipality and the expert are confident that all five young birds will get through the coming autumn migration safely.