Country diary: To Ukrainians, the storks' return is a glimmer of hope

Lviv, Ukraine: Forty of them are gliding above my head - our national bird, back for a spring that is like no otherMy name is Oleksandr Ruchko and I am a birdwatcher. Because I am 59 years old, I still have another few months when I can be called into action by the military recruitment office, to fight in the war with Russia. Lately I have been providing birdwatching tours around the parks in Lviv, my home. The tours are with refugees who have come here from cities around Ukraine, including Kyiv and Kharkiv. They have lost their homes and some have lost family members. I'm trying to help them to be calm, and take a break from thinking about what is happening.Spring is the best time for birdwatching here. You can hear the song of flycatchers, wrens, black redstarts and yellowhammers, and all the migrants are coming back to breed, including swifts, house martins, chiffchaffs, golden orioles and cuckoos. The most famous one is the white stork, Ukraine's national bird. The stork is very sacred to Ukrainians, a symbol of spring, of babies, and of peace. They are believed to be a kind of amulet, and protect your house against evil. Nobody here ever kills storks to eat, not even in the worst times like the Holodomor or the Holocaust. Continue reading...