Black Stork Nest in Karula, 2021

[Tatiana60]

12:22 ...

what an expressive photo of the older chick! Carl helped him clean almost all of his cheeks and neck!

I have one too, but it's (№ 1 in 12:21:42) very hungry and pathetic here...

[Tatiana60]

13.01.00 the broadcast stopped on this image:

[Heloise]

The camera image is foggy. Are the chicks and the nest producing water vapor today?

This is põuavine or põuasomp (in Estonian) = haze
(Google Translation:)
Strong air turbidity due to particulate matter. Haze often gives objects farther away a greyish-bluish tinge. The sun shines through the haze, especially when it is close to the horizon - reddish-yellow. In the case of haze, the humidity is low (less than 75%). This is what distinguishes haze from foggy. Hazes has a visibility of 1 - 10 km. Depending on the intensity of the haze, visibility may decrease up to 1000 m and below. Dust, smoke, drought and urban pollutants are distinguished according to the conditions of origin.

(From the website of the State Weather Service)
http://www.ilmateenistus.ee/definition/ ... -pouasomp/

And there: warnings:
Valgamaa (Karula):

From Jun 22 to Jun 23 a tropical air mass will remain above Estonia. The maximum air temperature will rise between 30..35°C.
The fire risk of forests increases to a very dangerous level!
Jun 22 in the afternoon and in the evening thunder.

http://www.ilmateenistus.ee/ilm/prognoo ... d/?lang=en

[Heloise]

16:10:40 The stream is back!
The storklets are calmly in the nest





16:17

[Swenja]

Thanks @Heloise for the explanation about the haze today.
16:24:06 Karl II comes and feeding time!
He brought fish.





16:25:41 He flies away.

[Heloise]

Swenja, it is my pleasure!

Maybe we in the Nordic countries are more familiar with this phenomenon. If there is sometimes unusual heat (which we rarely have), then we will see it. I knew right away that this foggy picture is a "põuavine"/ haze because of the drought.
Such haze is now everywhere.



I have to go...

[Trine]

Maybe we in the Nordic countries are more familiar with this phenomenon. If there is sometimes unusual heat (which we rarely have), then we will see it. I knew right away that this foggy picture is a "põuavine"/ haze because of the drought.
Such haze is now everywhere.

The weather experts in media say that it's some Central Asian dust above Estonia today. So the haze is not only because of the heat.
But on the camera, the blur seems to be rather local

[Heloise]

Hey, Trine, you may be right... the camera is a bit "foggy" too.

Edit: there is like a blurry pillar...

[Heloise]

16:37 The storklets find a pine cone in the nest. They play with it. Eventually, the cone falls from the beak somewhere to the edge of the nest.



The cone is mine!



16:45 Are my wings strong enough?

[Heloise]

16:45

There is always someone third who is a little different





Look!

[Trine]

Hey, Trine, you may be right... the camera isa bit "foggy" too.

You were right too, because there is a haze today
Fortunately the cam is back.

A lightning map shows that there's some thunder in northern Latvia not far from Karula.

[Swenja]

17:05:00 Camera off

[Anne7]

Hello, everyone

Swenja, Heloise, Tatiana, many thanks for all wonderful pictures and observations!

This is põuavine or põuasomp (in Estonian) = haze
...
Dust, smoke, drought and urban pollutants are distinguished according to the conditions of origin.

The weather experts in media say that it's some Central Asian dust above Estonia today. So the haze is not only because of the heat.
But on the camera, the blur seems to be rather local

Hello Heloise and Trine.

I think you are both right.
The 'blurred column' we observe above the nest is probably (indirectly) caused by the dust particles (haze) that are currently present in the air above Estonia.
But, as Trine says, "... the blur seems to be rather local. "
In fact, haze will never be limited to a column (of about half a metre in diameter) above a nest, I believe.

I believe that what we are observing could be caused by a combination of the evaporation of water (poured on the nest) + the current dust particles in the air...
Perhaps the water vapour makes the dust particles visible, or vice versa, perhaps the dust particles make the water vapour visible?

Unless it's a smudge on the lens of the camera? :-)

"Haze often occurs when dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat."
Wikipedia

"When the water vapor in the air reaches saturation, the excess water vapor condenses and combines with tiny dust particles to form small water droplets (or ice crystals), namely, the “fog”. ... It can be seen that the occurrence of fog and haze is closely related to the changes of water vapor in the air."
Impact of water vapor content on visibility: Fog-haze conversion and its implications to pollution control
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 9521001174


But maybe someone has a better explanation.
This is only my 'best guess'. I am not an expert, not at all. :-)

[Anne7]

17:05:00 Camera off

Hello, Swenja

I will consult OrniTrack tonight.

For the sake of completeness.

[Swenja]

18:05:05 Camera on
18:05:07 Kaia comes and feeding time!



18:10 The chicks want some refreshment.
18:10:29 Kaia flies away.

[Swenja]

Hello, Swenja

I will consult OrniTrack tonight.

For the sake of completeness.

Many thanks!

[Swenja]

18:18:30 Kaia comes with water and something.
Kaia just totally irritated me.







Kaia stayed in the nest. It is very nice that she spends a lot of time here today.

[Swenja]

But now the chicks are teasing Mama with their beaks.



Kaia can do magic. Chicks are calm.



Now the three are going crazy again!

18:48:36 Kaia flies away.

[Anne7]

18:05:07 Kaia comes and feeding time!

I tried to see what Kaia brought. But I can't.
It was eaten within a second.

[Thomas Niiström]

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. I have learned so much about the growth of storks in recent weeks. Youtube, pictures and Forum