PHOTOS: why there are so many more storks in France now Birds usually migrate south to Africa but more are opting to stay - as these images show
France's swallow population has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years Homeowners removing nests from their properties and pesticides cited among reasons - but it comes as the stork population is showing healthy growth in France
Storks more abundant in France and spreading to different departments They used to live in large numbers in the marshes of Charente-Maritime, but now they are also settling in Deux-Sèvres, Charente and Vendée.
magazine WATCH: live footage of family of storks living on a mairie in Moselle Five new babies were born recently and will stay in the nest, being cared for by their parents, for the next two months
Nesting storks choose western France over Alsace Alsace may the spiritual home of the stork - but more of the historic region's emblematic young birds actually hatch on the other side of the country
Calling all white stork spotters After warming their feathers in sub-Saharan Africa or the Indian subcontinent during the winter months, white storks cigognes blanches have already been spotted nesting in chimneys in Franche-Comté, en route to Alsace or the Rhine Valley.