The presence of the stork in Alsace dates back to at least the Middle Ages, the first historical reference comes from the Annals of the Dominicans of Colmar dating from the late 13th century, which mentions their return spring.
We don't know the precise size of the entire region for the period before 1927, it is estimated oscillating around 15 couples for the pre-war period. A large population is still recorded in 1945 with 177 nests, but the years to come will be marked by an impressive decline. We'll go from 145 couples in 1960 to 9 couples in 1974.
It is from these years, that ornithologists inspired by the experience of Max BLOESCH in Switzerland, and anxious to see the symbol bird nest on the steeples, will start a program of reintroduction based on the sedentarisation of the birds, to prevent them from perishing during their migration. As a result, the number of breeding pairs will continue to increase: 21 in 1980, 31 in 1987 and close to 360 pairs in 2005.
At present, the stork seems to be out of the woods and the reintroduction program has slowed down considerably, but various organizations (APRECIAL, CNRS, SOS Stork, etc.) continue to watch over the regional population. '
There are currently 5 nests built in Turckheim :
- on the Town Gate « France » ,
- on the school ,
- on the Wine Cellar ,
- at the camping
- Rue De Lattre ,
as well as a "wild" nest that the storks have installed on the chimney of a particular house.
They are fed daily to the storks Park site, in the "Barade" recreation area that houses four residents, maintained in captivity to lose the migration instinct.
