A pair of obstinate white storks are giving Dutch rail operators a real headache, causing repeated train delays by dropping sticks into the mechanism of a switch that shifts trains between tracks at the Meppel station.
The storks aren’t doing it on purpose; they’re just sloppy nest-builders. And persistent nest-builders—once they find a spot they like, they keep coming back to it. Even after rail workers removed the nest and provided alternate spots nearby. Very nice, the storks appear to have said, but we prefer our original location. They quickly rebuilt the nest.
Storks have special protection in the Netherlands; permission is needed to move them or their nests, and permission cannot be given at all if there are eggs involved. Rail officials say they will continue to try to move the nest, hoping to succeed before there are eggs. An ecologist must accompany them as they work to check for eggs.
Photo: Apdency/Wikimedia Commons
