BS Skierka (and others from the project BocianiMy)

[marika.solo]

BS female SKIERKA (and others from the project BocianiMy)
Facebook News Timeline viewtopic.php?f=91&t=145&p=22857#p22857 Note: This thread summarizes Skierka’s information sourced from Facebook collected up to the establishment of our forum in autumn 2021. Since then, her migration and nesting updates have been tracked and nest life documented in separate individual threads. - ! not complet for now)

SKIERKA (previous Żółty - Yellow), ring number VT3726
Skierka is an adult female, hatched in 2017 (10 CY), in the Skierniewice Forest District; she currently nests in the Bolewice Forest District.
She was equipped with a leg-mounted transmitter, and her migration has been tracked via an online map as part of the BocianiMy Stork Project, under the identifier Żółty (“Yellow,” referring to the yellow transmitter) – BOCZ 07 ZOL.

Skierka’s first migration led her to Saudi Arabia (Tabuk area) during the 2017/2018 season. She has since wintered in Greece, on the Struma River near Lake Kerkini National Park, for the eight time.
Photos: 03.03.2022 Skierka in Italy (Lake Kerkini NP) https://www.facebook.com/kerkiniNP/post ... 1762642024

source of information: https://www.facebook.com/BocianiMy and/or Mr. Dariusz Anderwald

Greece: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece
Kerkini National Park: https://kerkini.gr/?lang=en
Struma river: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struma_(river) (wiki: In Greece it is the main waterway feeding and exiting from Lake Kerkini, a significant centre for migratory wildfowl.)

- Autumn-winter migration 2025/2026: viewtopic.php?f=172&t=310

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continuation:
- Nesting season 2026:
- Autumn migration 2026:


(source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=86 ... 5772583770)

[marika.solo]

SPRING MIGRATION 2025 viewtopic.php?f=149&t=258
19.03 - 29.03 (10 days)

Skierka departed from the Kerkini National Park area on 19 March, apparently due to cold weather, and headed north toward Poland. She had spent 169 days at her wintering grounds in Greece, in the Struma River valley. The journey from Greece lasted 10 days; adverse weather conditions in Hungary temporarily stopped her migration. On 29 March at 16:37, Skierka arrived at her nest in the Bolewice Forest District.

SPRING MIGRATION 2024 viewtopic.php?f=111&t=180
03.03 - 11.03 (8 and a half days), 1400 km

Skierka, the most famous female black stork in Europe, returned today from her permanent wintering grounds in Greece—the wide valley of the Struma River near Kerkini National Park. This was the sixth time she had wintered there. She spent 143 days in the Struma valley. She departed from Greece on 3 March at 09:00 and arrived in Poland at her nest in the Bolewice Forest District on 11 March at 14:00. During the 8.5-day journey, she rested at night, fed in the mornings, and continued her flight through North Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia. The straight-line distance covered was approximately 1,400 km.

SPRING MIGRATION 2023 viewtopic.php?f=102&t=160
05.03 - 12.03 (7 days), 1520 km

Skierka returned from her Greek wintering grounds to the Bolewice Forest District. Along the way, she passed all eight nests known to her and stopped at one of her favourite feeding sites between the lakes of the Miedzichowski Landscape Park. She covered 1,520 km in eight days—a very fast spring migration. She stopped only once, for a single day, at the Stawy Milickie Reserve, due to a cold front and strong winds in northern Poland.

map (click) https://i.postimg.cc/7hb4CPRk/2023-03-1 ... 9265-n.jpg

SPRING MIGRATION 2022 viewtopic.php?p=1134#p1134
04.03 - 11.03 (7 days), 1510 km

Skierka completed the journey from her wintering grounds in Greece, along the Struma River, in just seven days without any stopovers, covering a distance of 1,510 km. She had remained at the wintering site for 172 days in the company of 18 other black storks, at least two of which were also from Poland (their rings were read). Skierka is familiar with at least two other nests within a radius of 40 km.
viewtopic.php?p=1174#p1174

[marika.solo]

March 02
Heloo everyone

FB news https://www.facebook.com/BocianiMy/post ... wJQzzJMybl

SKIERKA ruszyła! Na razie stanęła w Serbii.
Czekamy
SKIERKA is on the move! For now, she has stopped in Serbia. We are waiting



fingers crossed - safe fly!

[marika.solo]

AI "consultations":

Based on recent migration tracking:
- The Journey: Skierka typically winters in the Struma River valley near Lake Kerkini National Park in Greece.
- Current Progress: Having reached Serbia, she is roughly halfway through her spring migration. In previous years, her journey from Greece to her nest in the Bolewice Forest District (Poland) has taken between 7 and 10 days.
- Next Steps: After leaving Serbia, she usually continues her flight through Hungary and Slovakia before arriving in Poland.

Since she is currently in Serbia, she has two major factors to contend with before reaching Poland:
- The Serbian/Hungarian Feeding Stops: If she hasn't found enough food in the Struma Valley (Greece) before leaving, she will likely spend 1–2 days in the Serbian wetlands or Hungarian floodplains to "refuel" for the final leg.
- The Tatra Mountains/Slovakia Weather: This is often the hardest part of her journey. If there is a "north wind" or heavy rain/snow in the mountains of Slovakia, she might "stall" in southern Hungary or northern Serbia until the weather clears.

Looking at the current forecast for her route through Slovakia and Southern Poland for this week:
- Weather Window: The forecast for Bratislava and Central Slovakia shows temperatures around 8°C–10°C with mostly clear skies or light clouds through March 5th. This is excellent flying weather for her—no strong north winds or heavy rain are predicted to block her path.
- Feeding Stops: If she found good food in the Serbian wetlands yesterday, she might skip any long stops in Hungary and push straight through.
- The "Slovakia Climb": If she feels tired after crossing the Hungarian plains, she might take one "rest day" in the foothills of the Carpathians (Slovakia) before the final hop to Poland. This would move her arrival to March 6th or 7th.

- The Distance Left: From the northern part of Serbia to the Bolewice Forest District in Poland is roughly 700–800 km in a straight line.
- Her Speed: A healthy black stork like Skierka can fly 200–300 km per day if the wind is behind her.
If she left her Serbian stopover this morning (March 2nd) and faces no major delays:
- March 3: Crossing Hungary.
- March 4: Crossing Slovakia and entering Southern Poland.
- March 5: Landing at the nest in Bolewice.
This would match her 7-day record

Earliest Arrival: March 5th or 6th

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Year - Departure (Greece) - Arrival (Poland) - Total Days - Weather Condition

2025, March 19 -March 29 - 10 days - Bad (stalled in Hungary)
2024, March 3 - March 11 - 8.5 days - Normal / Moderate pace
2023, March 5 - March 12 - 7 days - Very fast / 1 stopover
2022, March 4 - March 11 - 7 days - Perfect / No stopovers

Year - Skierka Arrival - Królewicz Arrival - Who Waited?

2026 (Est.), March 5–7 - Unknown - Likely Skierka
2025, March 30 - March 21 - Królewicz (9 days)
2024, March 11 - March 26 - Skierka (15 days)
2023, March 12 (old nest), March 23 (new nest) - March 21 - Królewicz (2 days)