Londoners are being consulted on the potential re-establishment of white storks in the capital, as part of a project to determine if these “talismanic” birds can once again thrive in the city.
The majestic birds, which vanished from Britain centuries ago, have seen a resurgence following reintroduction efforts in southern England, leading to a notable “explosion” in sightings across Greater London.
Conservationists are now exploring whether the metre-tall birds, known for flourishing in urban environments across Europe, could similarly establish themselves in London.
The urban rewilding organisation Citizen Zoo is spearheading an appraisal to transform London into a “white stork-friendly city”.
This involves comprehensive habitat mapping, engaging with boroughs across the capital to assess their receptiveness, and conducting public surveys.
Historically, white storks were a common sight in British skies, constructing their large nests on rooftops, buildings, and in trees, before their disappearance as a breeding species in the 1400s due to hunting and habitat destruction.
Since 2016, the white stork project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured storks – which can act as a “magnet” for wild birds that visit from the continent – at Knepp and Wadhurst Park, with the first successful breeding in 2020.
In the four decades before the start of the project, there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London.
But between 2016 and 2023 there have been 472 sightings in the capital, with the numbers increasing year-on-year, conservationists said.
Citizen Zoo has worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles to Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital, in efforts to bring city dwellers closer to nature, deliver wellbeing benefits and make London more resilient to climate change, and is now looking at white storks.
The storks have wider ecological benefits for their habitat, creating huge nests which are homes and food sources for an array of species from insects to birds.
But it is their ability to inspire people about nature that has been a key part of reintroduction efforts in the UK.
Elliot Newton, co-founder and director of rewilding at Citizen Zoo, said: “These are a really talismanic, iconic species that really do draw and attract attention.
“You look up into the skies and see a white stork, it’s quite obvious.”
He said: “We realised in recent years we’ve seen an explosion in white stork recordings across Greater London.
“And if you look across European landscapes, this is a bird that can actually thrive in urban landscapes, on chimneys, on pylons, and are associated with thriving in urban settings.
“What we want to see is how can we make London a more white stork-friendly environment, and embrace it for its ability to inspire people about the nature we can and should have close to where we live.”
The survey is being led by the University of Brighton’s Rachel White, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the white stork project in Sussex.
The first phase of the study has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and a second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their view on white storks and their place in the capital.
Dr White said: “It is really important to be monitoring stakeholders’ opinions and attitudes towards any reintroductions, because that’s one of the main reasons that reintroduction projects fail – they haven’t got the buy-in from the key stakeholders.
“It is really important to not assume, or to not just go ahead with projects, because you see the conservation value in it.”
The national survey found overall people were very positive towards the species, even if they had never seen storks before, although there was a lack of knowledge about matters such as the stork’s diet, and even what they look like.
But a “relatively small” number of people – often those who were ecologists, conservationists or birders – were not in favour of the reintroduction, largely because it was not a threatened species and they thought it should not be a priority for action, she added.
The London survey will feed into the wider assessment by Citizen Zoo of the political and public enthusiasm and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex.
However, Mr Newton added that “nature has a fantastic tendency to surprise us”, with the possibility storks could establish themselves in the capital of their own accord.
To take part in the survey, people can visit: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/brighton/thoughts-on-london-storks
