Woolly-necked storks in abundance around Toti river
Woolly-necked storks are solitary nesters and both mates probably stay together all year round.
The woolly-necked stork or white-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae.
They are uncommon to rare residents from the South Coast, north through the KwaZulu-Natal coastal belt and North Eastern Lowveld of South Africa.
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However, these storks are often seen in Amanzimtoti around the Civic Centre area.
They like rivers, pans, dams, lagoons, tidal mudflats and grassland, mainly in wooded areas where they feed on large insects, crabs, fish, frogs, lizards and molluscs.
These storks are often solitary or in pairs feeding on the edge of water, walking slowly or standing still for long periods, sometimes foraging in groups on grassland and lawns. Breeding takes place from August to November.
The nest is a platform of sticks lined with fine twigs and grass, usually in the horizontal fork of a leafy tree, in swamp or riverine forests.
Three to four dull white eggs are laid, the incubation period is 30 to 31 days and the nestling period about 40 days.
The Afrikaans name is wolnekooivaar.
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