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In Eskikaraagac village, Bursa's Karacabey district, a parent stork leans into the nest to feed its newborns. The village, named "Stork Village" by the European Natural Heritage Foundation, is home to Yaren, a stork famous for a 15-year friendship with local fisherman Adem Yilmaz. This year, Yaren hatched five chicks.
At sunrise, the parent stork stands over the nest and feeds each chick in turn. The five young storks, still very small, depend completely on their parents for food. They eat mostly small fish, frogs, and insects collected from the nearby lake.
A parent stork brings an insect, clearly seen in its beak, to the hungry chicks below. Both adults take turns flying to the lake for food and back to the nest, maintaining a steady feeding routine to help all five chicks grow quickly.
Three of the five chicks wait in the nest with their dark beaks open and heads lifted. At this age, young storks are becoming more aware of their surroundings and react excitedly to the sights and sounds of their parents returning.
Two chicks, a bit older than the rest, stand up in the nest while a parent rests nearby. The young birds' fluffy white feathers and the adults' bright red beak show the difference in their growth, which will become less noticeable in the next few weeks.
The two adult storks stand face to face near the nest, clattering their bills together, a common behavior for bonded pairs.
This moment shows how the parents work together to care for their chicks, sharing the work of feeding and looking after them all day.
One chick calls out with its beak wide open against the clear blue sky. Its dark bill and fluffy neck show it is still young and not yet ready to leave the nest. The call means it is hungry and waiting for the next feeding.
Three chicks sit together in the nest, with two facing each other and their beaks open as if interacting. The nest gets busier every day as the chicks grow. Birdwatchers and nature lovers in Eskikaraagac have been watching Yaren's chicks closely since they first appeared this season.
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