The stork was thought to be all but extinct; and so wherever he appears, there is rightly cheering. His return to Bavaria is progressing so numerously that the storkless communities have to start asking themselves whether they are doing something wrong. Therefore, they could now pour themselves a Schlenkerla in Bamberg to celebrate the day: Finally they have a bird again. A pair of storks has made themselves comfortable on a roof near the cathedral, according to BR a “sensation”: It is the first breeding in the city since 1900.
But this raises a new question for the stork-experienced Bamberg residents: How does the fun continue now that it’s here? A view of Dinkelsbühl, for example, offers a special kind of visual aids. There, too, the return of the stork will not be forgotten so quickly. In 2019 there were three nests in the city, meanwhile there are 13 according to a map of the state association for bird protection. This means that the Dinkelsbühl people have significantly more birds than the Bamberg residents, but on the other hand there is no longer any reason to celebrate. On the contrary, the problems are literally piling up. Because the roof of the local tourist information was occupied by storks “with apparently good digestion”, as the Bavarian radio station recently noted. Since then, Dinkelsbühl has greeted its guests day after day with entrance steps covered in feces.
And that’s not the only stork-related incident. Already last year, the birds had spread out with a eyrie on the chimney of the tourist information office. Branches fell down the chimney and triggered a carbon monoxide alarm, which required the fire brigade to arrive. A city report noted that an attempt was made to offer the storks a new home by means of pipe constructions, but they “didn’t want anything to be dictated and built around it”. This year, black-and-white colleagues are also occupying the chimney of the kindergarten, which is why there is neither heating nor hot water. The mayor therefore already declared his surrender to the BR: “The storks have won.” Seen in this light, we should probably send the people of Bamberg all the best for the future at this point, in addition to congratulations.