Just a few days ago, on May 17, the first three black stork chicks in Madrid were born somewhere in the mountains of Madrid as part of the recovery project for this species carried out by the Madrid Ministry of the Environment, the Complutense University and the International Birdwatching Association.

The chicks have been seen through the remote monitoring camera system that was installed in the area where the six occupied black stork nests are located in the Community. These cameras allow the offspring and their parents to be supervised at all times, monitor their condition and act in the event of any eventuality.

The presence of the black stork -a very shy and elusive animal- in Madrid had dropped worryingly: in 2018 there were barely three pairs left.

The Madrid population of this species is one of the most threatened by infrastructure -power lines, for example-, urban pressure, intense recreational use of the natural environment, or communication routes that penetrate and fragment its habitat.

Awareness about the importance of this species and its care has even led to this past weekend, in a sports activity that took place near the nesting sites, the public address systems were further limited so as not to cause nuisance to chicks.

The actions carried out for their recovery by the Ministry of the Environment, directed by Paloma Martín, have managed to double the number of copies: last year seven pairs were registered, which raised fifteen chickens.

Environment has protected the usual nesting platforms, and has provided food in nearby places. Storks are already arriving in the Peninsula for the new breeding season; the three that were born last week will fly to Africa next October