The Black stork

The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is one of the great symbols of the wildest and most discreet nature. An imposing wading bird with a slender neck and legs, it can reach a wingspan of almost two metres. Its dark plumage, with greenish metallic reflections, contrasts with its white belly and bright red beak and legs, making it unmistakable in flight.

A migratory species, between late summer and early autumn it leaves Europe for sub-Saharan Africa, returning to its nesting sites in early spring. Here it chooses isolated and quiet environments, preferring overhanging rock faces, where it builds its nest on rocky ledges and well-protected niches. The courtship rituals are a real spectacle: a harmonious dance in the nest, in which the two partners imitate each other until they move as one.

The pair remain together for life and return to the same nest every year, a behaviour that the ancients interpreted as a symbol of fidelity, family stability and prosperity. These observations gave rise to legends associating storks with fertility and the birth of life.

Unlike the more common white stork, the black stork is a recent addition to the modern Italian fauna: the first confirmed nesting dates back to the 1990s. However, historical sources, such as the writings of Frederick II of Swabia, suggest that in the past it was also more widespread in southern Italy. Today, the national population is still small, with only a few dozen individuals, but it is slowly increasing.

In this context, the Lucanian Apennines Park plays a key role. Most of the entire Italian population is concentrated here, especially along the large inland waterways, where the black stork finds small fish caught along riverbanks and streams.

Elegant, silent and shy, the black stork has always been associated with positive messages: the return of spring, the renewal of life, the balance between man and nature. Its slow flight over the valleys and rivers of Lucania is today one of the most precious signs of the quality and richness of these environments.