From 1934 to 1941 a family of storks was observed 400 km east of Cape Town. At the end of the 20s of the last century storks built a nest in Bredasdorp 200 km east from Cape Town and 25 km north from the Cape Agulhas (southernmost tip of Africa). Storks breed in Bredasdorp till this day. What is more, there were seasons when up to four nests were inhabited in Bredasdorp.

Decades ago, a few nestlings were taken out of Bredasdorp nests to be brought up in the Tygerberg ZOO near Cape Town. In 1975, encouraged by the presence of their kin, wild storks built a nest in the ZOO. Since then storks breed in Tygerberg ZOO every year. In 2000 was even five wild stork nests.

Grown-up storks in Africa stay in vicinity of their nests all year long and do not seem to be eager to begin a journey northward. However young birds, the moment they are able to fly, disappear.  It usually happens in January, when our Polish storks get ready to travel home.

Ornithologists did their most to find out whether African birds, which hatched in winter, travel to spend summer in Europe together with their European conspecifics. All young birds hatched in South African nests are ringed. Some of them carry a satellite transmitter, which enables ornithologists to precisely track their route. Thanks to the information gathered in their observations, it has been established that young storks hatched in Africa, do fly north but they do not reach Europe but stay in Africa. The longest recorded route leads to the Sinai Peninsula, where on 12 June the stork turned back and flew back to Sudan, where it spent many days in May. The bird stayed in this region until it was found dead in October.