Pilar Mazo
Alfaro (La Rioja), (EFE).- Alfaro (La Rioja) revives this spring a loud chattering, known as crotoreo, coming from the colony of white storks arrived from Africa, which increases in the collegiate church of San Miguel, in whose On the roof is the largest urban colony of this species in Europe in a single building, with more than a hundred pairs.
This is the most characteristic sound of the species, similar to that of castanets, and which is produced by interlocking the jaws, which the adult bird executes with its beak as a greeting to its partner, the person in charge of the Interpretation Center of the Sotos del Ebro and its Storks in Alfaro, Mar Echegoyen.
After the arrival of the males and, later, the females to create the nests, in recent days the first cigoñinos have begun to hatch in the collegiate church, declared a National Monument and which constitutes the largest brick baroque temple in Spain.
From 600 to 700 specimens of storks
The forecast is that the roofs of this temple will house this year between 600 and 700 new specimens, which have already begun to be born.
To this large colony that nestles in the collegiate church are added others, also important in Alfaro, which are distributed among the roofs of the Convento de la Concepción, the Church of San Francisco, the sports center area and an old prison, until reaching a thousand white storks as a whole.
The fact that there are so many storks in Alfaro is due to the abundance of food that this species finds in the Los Sotos Nature Reserve, an area of some 476 hectares, where it is very comfortable for these birds to find a large quantity and variety of sustenance. , material to build their nests and plenty of water.
Image of the roofs of the collegiate school of San Miguel, in Alfaro, where the largest white stork colony in Europe settles in a single building.EFE/Raquel Manzanares.
The proximity of this nature reserve, the baroque architecture of the collegiate church and the tolerance of the pottery people provide storks with an incomparable place for breeding, added the person in charge of this interpretation center, which allows one to learn about the life of these birds and the ecosystem of this place.
Despite the widespread drought this year throughout the country, the Ebro River and one of its tributaries in La Rioja, the Alhama, supply Alfaro with enough water so that, in principle, these birds are not currently affected by the lack of rain in this ecosystem, which is one of the richest and most diverse in the La Rioja territory, has detailed.
However, since white storks are migratory birds, emigration depends, among other factors, on the availability of food and the weather.
3,000 kilometers in 15 days
In Alfaro, the white storks emigrate in their entirety every year, unlike what happens in other places in Spain, where this species establishes its nests and stays, details Echegoyen, who also clarifies that the migratory cycles have been shortened and in December they are already in these lands of La Rioja.
Many of the white storks that arrive in Alfaro winter in Senegal (Africa), after traveling some 3,000 kilometers in just 15 days.
In the breeding season, the continuous comings and goings of the storks, with their branches to the nests or food to the storks, the crowing and the greetings of each of the couples create a “unique and unforgettable” spectacle in the Alfareño sky. and that extends, although to a lesser extent, to the entire margin of the Ebro, where these birds nest.
First comes the male, who rebuilds the nest; later, the female comes and the life cycle of mating begins in some birds that are very fertile, Echegoyen has had an impact, because in the Sotos del Ebro de Alfaro they have all the food and what they need to “reach a good port” and incubate the chicks. their new generations.
Once the nests have been reconstructed, the female lays an average of between 2 and 5 eggs and, after incubation, which lasts approximately one month, the zygoñinos hatch, which will remain in the nest for three months until they reach the size of adulthood.
Afterwards, they will undertake their first flights and become emancipated, says the head of the Alfaro Interpretation Center visibly moved.
This visual and sound spectacle has begun to take place this spring, which attracts many tourists to this area of La Rioja Baja, who take the opportunity to visit the Sotos de Alfaro and the Interpretation Center. EFE