How old are wood storks when they leave their nest or colony?
Wood stork nestlings are fully feathered and capable of short flights at about 7-8 weeks of age but are not independent of their parents until they are 9-10 weeks old. The fledglings then leave the colony at 10-12 weeks of age. Thereafter, they do not interact with their parents. Immature storks spend the next 3-4 years wandering until they reach reproductive maturity. Only rarely will these young adult storks be seen in colonies and then mostly in small numbers; however on occasion they will group together in a gang and disrupt the nesting activities of the adults.
