Detection of a new important staging and wintering area of the White Stork Ciconia ciconia by satellite tracking

Since 1991, a large-scale satellite tracking study of White Stork Ciconia ciconia has followed 75 individuals along the eastern migration route, which passes across Israel into eastern Africa. Twenty-six of these birds travelled at least as far as the Sudan. Fifteen (58%) did not migrate to the eastern Sudan — the primary winter quarters in Africa suggested by ring recoveries — but flew to western Sudan and Chad and in one case even through Cameroon and into Nigeria. The significance of this new, important staging region for White Storks should be investigated urgently to establish the areas that are ecologically valuable for the conservation of this species.