Storks are noted for their beauty and appealing courting behavior.
A dangerous situation for some.
Ancient superstitions and traditions are evoked as to the blessings brought by
storks.
A suitable compromise.
Ciconia alba, once endangered, is now at home on many Spanish churches.
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Nearly every town and village in Spain has its church. The
towers of these churches often support the nests of storks. At the present time the
opinions of church councils are divided as to welcoming these birds. On the one hand there
are those who find the storks and their often extensive nests an unsightly blot. Claiming
that vermin are attracted and the supposed desecration of the holy architecture, they do
what they can to discourage the birds. Sharp iron stakes and barbed netting is frequently
set up, and loud noises and rigorous ringing of bells are performed when migrating storks
are looking for a nesting site. Advocates of stork-free towers also cite that storks have
been known to foul large areas around churches with their considerable guano, and that
parishioners are sometimes hit by it. On the other hand there are those who believe that
the storks bring welcome life and a natural focus to the towers. Ancient superstitions and
traditions are evoked as to the blessings brought by storks, and their presence is
encouraged as a bringer of good luck, long life, large families, etc.
At the turn of the present century the stork was nearly eradicated from southern Spain
by the forces hostile to them. Populations got going again when moderates proposed that
the birds might nest near, but not on, the churches--and erected high platforms for their
convenience.
A popular story relates that in a village where storks had been shot and killed while
trying to nest on a steeple, there were as many as three miscarriages during the following
month. In another where the birds were discouraged, most, if not all of the women
mysteriously moved away, making it a place where only elderly men now reside. In another
village, formerly barren of storks, and where they were actively encouraged, even prayed
for, children became plentiful for many years after their arrival. As to the flying guano
situation, it seems that only certain parishioners are consistently hit. But that’s
the way it is, isn’t it? |
