How Ukrainians save storks from winter in March

The prolonged winter in Ukraine became a keynote for jokes, memes, and complaints. The snowy weather in March also became a surprise for storks who already returned to Ukraine from warm countries. However, Ukrainians used social media not only for jokes about the unusual spring, but also to help the unlucky migratory birds.

Witnesses of the storks’ hardships started to post the pictures of them with calls foro help. The birds were suffering from cold and hunger. Together with pictures and calls people shared the locations.

https://www.facebook.com/iryna.telka/posts/333126450541723

In a few days, people started sharing the results of their help in social media. One of the activists Roman Tuziak said that he did not expect such a public outcry. He reported on established 12 feeders and the crowdfunded UAH 20,000 (about $760) he collected online. With this money he covered the expenditures of those who helped the birds and presented a report on this.

https://www.facebook.com/tuzyano/posts/1638758716215989

The civil initiative Leleka (“Stork” in Ukrainian) in Lviv Oblast also collected UAH 35,000 (around $1,330) for the needs of the birds.

The emergency service helped the storks out with nests. Photo: cv.dsns.gov.ua

The emergency service on their stork-rescuing action. Photo: dsns.gov.ua

The state agencies from across Ukraine also joined in and started to help.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2031174547136281&id=100007312659855

https://www.facebook.com/galina.boychuk.9/posts/1631658300250936

Some organizations started to share the rules how to help. These are the tips from one of them:

Don’t hurry up to bring them home. In this case, stress will be added to all the other hardships. They can survive a few days of winter, the only thing is that they need food. You should take them home only if they are in really bad conditions – it they are too weak and can’t fly.
Storks swallow their food whole. So if you give them fish, it should be either os a small size or chopped in to bits.
Fresh or frozen (unsalted!) fish is the best. Also it can be meat waste. For example, chicken necks.

The first map of the arrival of white stork caused a lot of interest.

https://www.facebook.com/vitaly.grishchenko.1/posts/605682329766640

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