Viviane Doussy
Viviane Doussy
14 April, 2025
News

A mellow evening with the Knepp storks

Storrington & Sullington Parish Council team up with Knepp Wildland to celebrate the wonderful return of the White Stork to Sussex.

A stork nest beautifully etched against the setting sun

Before Christmas 2024, Storrington & Sullington Parish Council was approached by Laura Vaughan-Hirsch from Knepp who proposed a formal link to Storrington. Storks were thought to have inhabited the area locally in the distant past. Storrington and Knepp Wildland thus became the UK Stork Village, joining 15 other European locations. 

The very pleasant evening of April 10th saw a small group of stork watchers assemble for a 2 hour stroll around a small part of the Knepp Estate. Ably led by Laura, the White Stork Project Lead and ecologist Tony Whitbread, they pointed out several stork nests and the wealth of other wildlife in this important re-wilding project which has been growing for the past few years. 

A white stork ambling along in the late afternoon sunshine
A white stork ambling along in the late afternoon sunshine Credit: Peter Meadows

Initially focussing on the nest seen by many as the live feed awaiting the hatching of the stork eggs. Laura explained that storks, originally given to Knepp from Poland, have successfully bred. They have been tracked on migration to north Africa and take one of two routes: to the west via Spain, or east via the Netherlands. Pleasingly, they have returned to Knepp to breed and their numbers have increased year on year.

The moon checking in on the progress of the eggs in one nest
The moon checking in on the progress of the eggs in one nest Credit: Peter Meadows

The clear skies enabled excellent views of several nests and even the moon checked on the progress of the eggs in one nest. The late sun gave a superb silhouette of one nest in particular and the stork posed accordingly. As the sun dipped it gave a warm glow to the blackthorn and the cool breeze said it was time to leave.

The inaugural ‘White Stork and Nature Revival’ festival hosted by Storrington & Sullington Parish Council in conjunction with Knepp Wildland Foundation will take place from 10:30am to 4:30pm on May 5th. It will be centred around the Chanctonbury Leisure Centre near Spierbridge Road in Storrington with presentations, guest speakers, live music, nature based activities, information, food stalls, etc. Admission and parking is free of charge.

There is also a festival concert at St. Mary’s Church, Storrington at 6:30pm. Tickets from £25 are available from  www.bernardimusicgroup.com.

Text and photos by Peter Meadows, Storrington resident and Parish Councillor