White Storks Nesting on a Rooftop

The Rooftop Nest

The camera is fixed on a massive stick nest that crowns a rooftop, a structure rebuilt and expanded by generations of storks. These nests can weigh hundreds of kilograms, anchored to chimneys, poles and gables across Hungarian towns where the birds and people have long lived side by side.

The Resident White Storks

The stars are white storks (Ciconia ciconia), tall wading birds with gleaming white plumage, black flight feathers and unmistakable red bills and legs. Watch them deliver food, clatter their bills in greeting, and shelter the young that hatch in the bowl of the nest.

Dunaújváros and the Danube

The nest sits in Dunaújváros, an industrial city on the banks of the Danube in central Hungary. The surrounding rooftops, gardens and quiet streets are typical of the lowland landscape that white storks favour for foraging in nearby meadows and wetlands.

A Window on Migration

White storks are among Europe's great migratory travellers, journeying thousands of kilometres between their breeding grounds and wintering areas. This nest offers an intimate look at their family life and a reminder of the seasonal rhythms that bring them back to the same rooftop year after year.