Wood Storks in North Carolina

Mycteria americana

STATUS: Endangered

DESCRIPTION: Wood storks are large, long-legged wading birds, about 5O inches tall, with a wingspan of 60 to 65 inches. The plumage is white except for black primaries and secondaries and a short black tail. The head and neck are largely unfeathered and dark gray in color. The bill is black, thick at the base, and slightly decurved. Immature birds are dingy gray and have a yellowish bill.
 
 

FEEDING HABITS: Small fish from 1 to 6 inches long, especially topminnows and sunfish, provide this bird's primary diet. Wood storks capture their prey by a specialized technique known as grope-feeding or tacto-location. Feeding often occurs in water 6 to 1O inches deep, where a stork probes with the bill partly open. When a fish touches the bill it quickly snaps shut. The average response time of this reflex is 25 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest reflexes known in vertebrates. Wood storks use thermals to soar as far as 80 miles from nesting to feeding areas. Since thermals do not form in early morning, wood storks may arrive at feeding areas later than other wading bird species such as herons. Energy requirements for a pair of nesting wood storks and their young is estimated at 443 pounds of fish for the breeding season (based on an average production of 2.25 fledglings per nest).
 
 

HABITAT: Storks are birds of freshwater and brackish wetlands, primarily nesting in cypress or mangrove swamps. They feed in freshwater marshes, narrow tidal creeks, or flooded tidal pools. Particularly attractive feeding sites are depressions in marshes or swamps where fish become concentrated during periods of falling water levels.
 
 

REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS:

Wood storks have a unique feeding technique and require higher prey concentrations than other wading birds. Optimal water regimes for the wood stork involve periods of flooding, during which prey (fish) populations increase, alternating with dryer periods, during which receding water levels concentrate fish at higher densities coinciding with the stork's nesting season. Loss of nesting habitat (primarily cypress swamps) may be affecting wood storks in central Florida, where nesting in non-native trees and in man-made impoundments has been occurring recently. Less significant factors known to affect nesting success include prolonged drought and flooding, raccoon predation on nests, and human disturbance of rookeries.

DISTRIBUTION IN NORTH CAROLINA:

Post breeding storks from Florida disperse as far north as North Carolina.  For more than 20 years. Yellow counties indicate an obscure data reference to the species in the county.a colony of wood storks ranging from 15-100 individuals frequent Sunset Beach during early June through mid September.  This colony represents the northernmost extent of this Federally-endangered species' range, and is the only known colony of wood storks in North Carolina.

Species Distribution from known occurrences. Species may occur in similar habitats in other counties.Green counties indicate observed within 20 years. Yellow counties indicate an obscure data reference to the species in the county.. Red counties indicate observed more than 20 years ago.

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