White storks are enjoying a good life, thanks to the rich food sources in the rice fields surrounding the Northern Macedonian commune of Češinovo-Obleševo. The village, which was granted the honour of being declared a stork village in 2013 by EuroNatur, hosted the 16th European Stork Conference from 12-15 July 2019.

From 12 to 15 June 2019, representatives of the European Stork Villages Network will meet in the Stork Village of Češinovo-Obleševo. Together with international nature conservation experts, they will discuss and learn about recent progress in protecting storks both in the Stork Villages and throughout Europe.

Within the frame of the project “WET MEADOWS AND PASTURES 2” EuroNatur intends to support local and national NGOs and the European Stork Villages (ESV) in the implementation of projects addressing the restoration of wet meadows and pastures. A first call for proposal in 2018 resulted in the funding of 8 habitat projects, which are currently ongoing. With this second call, we aim to identify and fund additional habitat projects in order to continue and enlarge this successful project model.

++ The migration season is now in full flow ++ Every year there are 25 million birds killed illegally, including thousands of white storks ++ International Campaign to fight against the killing of birds has been launched ++

Three weeks ago, a flock of white storks landed on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Poachers immediately set about hunting down these magnificent large birds. It is now believed that all the storks have been shot dead.

The project to preserve wet meadows and pastures has delivered great success for the white storks of Europe over the past four years. This project, initiated by EuroNatur, other nature conservation organisations, and the Stork Villages, provides an excellent basis for further approaches to protect the emblematic birds.

Over time it has become a strong tradition: From June 14th – 17th 2018, representatives of the European Stork Villages met for the 15th time. Hosts of this year’s stork village conference were the stork community of Altreu in Switzerland.

Once a year in the first week of May, the residents of the Macedonian stork village Češinovo-Obleševo come together to celebrate the return of the elegant gliders from their African wintering areas. It is a clear sign that spring has finally arrived.

Bird migration is now in full swing, and many of these feathered globetrotters will be flying this spring over the Lebanon to their breeding areas in Europe. Despite a statutory ban on the hunting of birds, thousands of them fall victim each year to the hunters' guns.

Those working to protect storks in the Serbian borough of Taraš have been keeping extremely busy. The new observation tower, information boards and guided excursions are just a few examples of the wide range of activities they have been involved in.