A White Stork and a Marabou Stork
to be precise.
Yesterday’s evening session with Wild Life Drawing was back with Gauntlet Birds of Prey based near Cheshire, and we drew Biggie the White Stork, and Sahara the young Marabou Stork. Both have been hand-reared and are consequently very relaxed around their handler/surrogate mum Daisy. I have seen the White Storks at Knepp so it was lovely to see one of these large and handsome birds up close. Resting soon one leg is a sign of contentment, and they swap legs every 17-19 minutes.
We then met Sahara the Marabou Stork. They are like a cross between a stork and a vulture, and actually get targeted for poisoning in the same way as vultures. As these birds are scavengers, poachers poison their illegally-killed carcasses to prevent attention being drawn to their activities. Gauntlet Birds of Prey work closely with the Hawk Conservancy Trust to provide kits that are used in the field to reduce mortality due to ingested poisons. One of the reasons I enjoy the Wild Life Drawing sessions is that 50% of our ticket fee goes to the organisation supporting the session, so last night we raised £90 for Gauntlet’s valuable work protesting these birds.
Here is Sahara – she was so adorable!
