Turkish man has welcomed storks to specially built nest for 60 years

By Ozgun Tiran

KIRKLARELI, Turkiye (AA) – For the past six decades, a sheep farmer in northeastern Turkiye has been welcoming storks to a nest he built especially for them in his yard.

Ismail Satici, then a teenager, began caring for the long-legged storks that nested on the roof of his house in the town of Vize in Kirklareli.

After struggling to make repairs to his rooftop due to the many birds nesting there, he built a special nest for the storks and placed it atop a 6-meter (20-foot) tree in his yard.

"When the storks arrive, I'm as giddy as a child. I see them as my children," he said.

"When the storks come and go, I'm overjoyed. I never feel sad when they leave," he explained, adding that "they leave when the time comes."

When they arrive, they make a ticking sound with their beak to alert him that they are on their way. Then they start cleaning the nest right away, he added.​​​​​​​