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The feathers of storks in Armenia’s Hovtashen village have been soaked in oil and matted for several days already.

“Today we visited Hovtashen again, where we observed the process of feeding the affected storks, held another (unplanned) cleaning session for two individuals (with other reagents), and searched for the source of pollution.

Results:

- the local administration takes a very responsible approach to the issue of feeding, feeding storks twice a day;

- cleaning with new reagents is better than the previous method, so next Sunday, we will have to arrange a Great Washing for storks;

- most probably, the source of pollution is sturgeon farming, which dumps the internal organs of gutted fish - which contain a high amount of fat - into rivers. These emissions form congestion in the canals, and in these jams storks look for food, smearing in fish oil, with all the consequences;

This hypothesis requires confirmation, after which it will be necessary to oblige sturgeon farms to clear congestion in canals and come up with another way to dispose of their waste.

For the support, I want to express my gratitude to the Hovtashen Village Administration, the Ministry of the Environment, as well as the art-cafe Ilik,” the Armenian Birdwatching Association said in a post on Facebook.

The relevant state structures have taken no action yet, while finding those responsible for the natural disaster wound not be so hard. The state should involve biologists and chemists in the process to clean the river and the affected storks. 

Photos from the Armenian Birdwatching Association's official Facebook page