Big birds and strange nests

The theme for this week's SMAP is free, and since last week it was about little birds, this week I´ll post about a big bird!

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This big bird is no stranger to anyone, and in Portugal it can be seen all year round; this species is migratory, and most individuals spend the winter in Africa, but more and more are becoming residents, i.e., they stay in the country in winter months as well.

^{White stork - Ciconia ciconia}

They can be seen mainly from the center to the south of the country. Countless nests have been made to help the storks population grow, and nowadays it's not uncommon to go in a highway, look to the side, and see en electricity pole with 5 or 6 (or more!) occupied nests.

And it's actually about the nests I'll be focusing, because apart from the most obvious locations, you can find them in places you wouldn't be expecting! Some of the most common places? Electricity poles, for sure.

Isolated, near highways, in the middle of nowhere... if there is a pole, storks can build a nest on it!

I'm used to see them in the poles everywhere, although it's not that common to see nests in the middle of an urban area. But then again, if instead of an electric pole, you have a big communications tower...

... "sure", said Mr. and Ms. stork, "we'll take it!".

You can see this one in the south, in a city called Tavira.

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Now, this next location is the coolest for me; and as far as I can tell, it's uncommon in any other countries with white storks; because apparently, some of them like the sea as much as most portuguese do!

So there you go, a nest by the seaside! This one is in the southwest, near a small village called Zambujeira do Mar.

Although it seems they're really near sea level, they are at a reasonable distance; but I can guess they don't escape a ton of water sprinkles carried by the wind. And the sea here can be rough sometimes.

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Are storks in your country nesting everywhere too? Do let me know in the comments!

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