Storks are back in Britain - and they're a beacon of hope for all of us | Isabella Tree

These charismatic birds could be just the species to get the public behind the concept of landscape restorationIn April a pair of white storks built a shaggy nest of sticks in the top of an oak tree in the middle of our rewilding project at Knepp estate in West Sussex. Drone footage, taken before the pair started sitting on them, showed three large eggs. The last definitive record of a pair of wild storks successfully breeding in Britain was in 1416, from a nest on St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.No one knows why storks disappeared from our shores. They often feature on the menus of medieval banquets so we might, quite simply, have eaten them out. But there could be a more ominous reason. Early spring migrants, nesting on rooftops and happily associating with humans, storks have long been a symbol of hope and new life - hence the fancy of storks carrying babies in slings in their beaks. Yet their association with rebirth also meant they became a symbol of insurgency. Shortly after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660, with storks rare but clinging on, parliament debated putting greater effort into expunging them from the east of England for fear they might foment republicanism. Continue reading...