Once more, Klepetan makes Croatia smile as he returns to his Malena.
Last year the whole story was quite a drama, he was quite late, and when he finally came, an unpleasent surprise awaited him.
This year there was almost no drama at all. I mean, if you choose to ignore the whole drama of flying halfway across the world with nothing but your wings, of course. Klepetan managed to come back to Croatia perfectly on time, around 10 am this morning – his average time of return is March 24th, so this year Malena had no time to go look for another mate like she did last year. It is expected that it will take him a bit longer to complete the 13000 km long flight as he gets older. Malena was (allegedly; don’t ask me how scientists know that but that’s what they’ve reported) happy to see him and flapped her wings with joy as he approached her, although he was noticeably less white and clean this year – but now he’ll have the time to get himself and his feathers in order.
But, not too much time, as he has already started on his chores (without taking a day off after a flight like that! What a champ) of collecting the branches and other material to make their nest perfect for the new chicks which will surely be coming soon. They’ve parented over 50 baby storks in their years of love in Brodski Varoš.
