A vast rubbish dump in southern Spain has become a magnet for ornithologists as thousands of storks, black kites and vultures make a stopover to feed on food waste before beginning their journey across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Report informs via the Guardian that many Spanish and central European storks have chosen to stay in Spain, feeding from the dump, rather than make the long journey south. As a result, there is now a stable population of about 37,000 birds wintering there, according to SEO/Birdlife.
“It’s not new for birds to take advantage of this food supply, but what we are seeing is a change in migratory behaviour, especially in the case of white storks,” Pinilla said.
“Until relatively recently, all the European white storks wintered in Africa, and as the rubbish dumps have grown larger, the birds have learnt that if there’s enough food here there’s no need to make a 3,000km [1,850-mile] journey to sub-Saharan Africa to find something to eat.”
Strong crosswinds complicate the 8-mile journey and any bird that falls into the sea is likely to die there, as they are unable to regain flight, so the better fed they are before they set off, the better their chance of survival.
Researchers say that as well as food, the birds eat a lot of plastic, rubber and toxic substances on the landfills. There are also rats, which the kites hunt.