Overview

• Hamburg's prolonged drought has drastically reduced the availability of worms, frogs, and snails, essential prey for white stork chicks.
• At least four chicks have been ejected from nests by stork parents unable to sustain all offspring due to food shortages.
• Jürgen Pelch, a stork expert with Naturschutzbund Hamburg, has urged residents to check for fallen chicks under nests and report them for rescue.
• Hamburg hosts Germany’s largest urban white stork population, with 57 breeding pairs concentrated in Marsch and Vierlanden.
• Experts warn that climate change-driven drying trends could further threaten stork habitats and breeding success in the coming years.