Side Trips: Whoville

In Strasbourg's Parc de l'Orangerie, massive white storks (Ciconia ciconia) nested atop roofs and topped-off trees. There were dozens in all, cleaning and preening the nurseries, soaring high above, and swooping down to their roosts like pterosaurs.


The white stork is one of the iconic symbols of the entire Alsace region, spanning both France and Germany. All the same, the population almost disappeared until preservation efforts began in the 1980s--centered on dedicated sanctuaries such as the park. I guess it worked--we seemed to be the only people showing much interest in the living dinosaurs clattering above.




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