Ambitious rewilding project aims to establish the White Stork as a breeding species in London's wetlands

                                                         

White Storks - is there a future for them in London? (photo: London Wildlife Trust)

COULD White Storks soon become nesting birds in London for the first time in more than 600 years?

Yes, if a rewilding project spearheaded by London Wildlife Trust pays off.

With the help of a £500,000 grant from the Mayor of London's Green Roots Fund, captive-bred chicks are due to be released in Eastbrookend Country Park, Romford, East London, in autumn next year.

It is hoped these birds will flourish in habitat alongside the park's two lakes  and go on to form the nucleus of  a breeding population - just like the Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

Enthuses Sam Davenport, Director of Nature Recovery at London Wildlife Trust: "Reintroducing iconic flagship species such as White Storks helps us all to imagine an ambitious future for nature recovery in the capital.

"The project will inspire communities to connect with nature and landowners to create more wetland habitats, in turn, benefiting other species. 

"In this way, reintroduction becomes a catalyst for wider ecological restoration, helping to build a greener, more resilient London for generations to come." 

It is understood that the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, is equally enthusiastic, but the scheme is not without controversy.

The site is in a deprived borough  of London, and there are many  residents who feel the money would be better spent on helping to alleviate poverty and other social ills.

* Elsewhere, sad news from Madrid is that about 400 White Storks have this month  been found dead alongside the Manzaranes river in Getafe, a southern suburb of Spain's capital. The corpses are being tested to establish if they have fallen victim to a virulent form of avian influenza.