How far away from a colony will wood storks fly in order to find food for their young?
Based on several studies, both in Georgia and Florida, using wood storks with attached radio-transmitters that send signals to allow the location of the individual birds, it appears that storks regularly fly distances of 5-12 miles from the nesting colony during regular foraging bouts. However, one stork flew about 75 miles away and returned the following day to relieve its mate and feed its nestlings! The distance a stork flies to locate food is dependent upon water levels, the availability of prey, and quality of wetlands. During droughts, storks must fly greater distances in order to find food. Thus, the wetlands around the colony site are important in maintaining the feeding habitat and integrity of a successful nesting effort.
