Stork Nest in Ústí nad Orlicí — Online Webcam
Ústí nad Orlicí — the Czech town of storks
The small Czech town of Ústí nad Orlicí in the Pardubice Region has long earned the unofficial nickname — "stork town." And this is no coincidence: white storks nest here everywhere, choosing the roofs of houses, industrial buildings, and even lamp posts. One of these nests has become a real local landmark — a webcam was installed on it, and now anyone can watch the life of its feathered owners right from their browser.
The town is picturesquely located — at the confluence of the Tichá Orlice and Třebovka rivers, at an altitude of 350 meters above sea level. It is about 150 kilometers east of Prague. This is a quiet provincial town with a population of around 14,000 people, the fifth largest in the region. The historic center of Ústí nad Orlicí is well preserved and has the status of a urban conservation area, but storks have chosen by no means the old quarters for nesting.
Where the nest with the webcam is located
The camera is installed in the industrial zone of the town, at 348 Lanškrounská Street. The white stork nest is located right on the roof of one of the commercial buildings. This is a fairly typical scene for the Czech Republic — storks are not afraid of human presence and willingly build nests in anthropogenic landscapes, as long as there are suitable feeding grounds nearby — meadows, fields, and floodplain areas along rivers.
The industrial zone may seem like an unexpected place for a bird's nest, but for storks the logic is simple: a high roof with a good view, the absence of large predators, and proximity to river meadows where they can catch frogs, fish, and insects. The building with the nest is adjacent to a parking lot, and some roofs have visible solar panels — a modern industrial landscape that contrasts with the ancient instinct of birds to build bulky nests from branches.
White stork: a bird that chooses people
The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is one of the most recognizable bird species in Europe. In the Czech Republic, storks enjoy special reverence: they are considered a symbol of luck, prosperity, and family happiness. Unlike many wild birds, storks not only tolerate human presence — they consciously choose to live near people. Nests on house roofs, water towers, and power line poles are normal for them.
Every spring, a pair of storks returns from Africa to their nest — often the same nest that has been used for decades, growing with new layers of branches and increasing in size. Old nests can weigh several hundred kilograms and reach two meters in diameter. A pair of storks remains faithful to each other and to their nesting site, which makes the webcam at the nest in Ústí nad Orlicí particularly interesting: viewers can watch the same family year after year.
Why storks nest in the industrial zone
At first glance, an industrial zone seems like a strange place for a nest. But for a stork, three things matter: a safe elevated platform for the nest, open space for observation, and proximity to feeding grounds. The industrial zone on Lanškrounská Street meets all three conditions. The building's roof rises above the surroundings, giving storks an excellent view of the area. And in the immediate vicinity flows the Orlice River with its floodplain meadows — ideal hunting territory for these birds.
In addition, the Czech Republic has a long tradition of attracting storks. Special platform stands are often installed on roofs to make it easier for birds to build nests. Even in industrial zones, local residents and businesses are usually happy to have feathered neighbors and do not interfere with their settling. This is part of Czech cultural identity — a stork here is not just a bird, but a full-fledged resident of the town.
Climate and nature around Ústí nad Orlicí
The Pardubice Region is located in the eastern part of the Czech Republic, in an area called Podkrkonoší — the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains. The climate here is moderately continental: warm summers, cold winters, and sufficient rainfall. The Orlice River, which gave the town its name, flows through the entire area and creates a characteristic floodplain landscape — an alternation of meadows, shrubs, and floodplain forests.
It is these biotopes that attract storks. Floodplain meadows after spring floods abound with small fish, frogs, and large insects — the main food of the white stork. In the vicinity of Ústí nad Orlicí, fragments of the traditional rural landscape have been preserved: pastures, hay meadows, and orchards. All this creates a food base sufficient for several pairs of storks that nest in the town and its surroundings.
Webcam as a tool for wildlife observation
The webcam at the stork nest in Ústí nad Orlicí is not just entertainment for bird lovers. It is a real tool for monitoring the white stork population. Observation via the online camera allows tracking arrival dates, the number of eggs laid, chick survival rates, and the timing of young birds' first flight. This data is valuable for ornithologists studying the impact of climate change on the migration patterns of European storks.
The camera operates in real time, and viewers can see what is usually hidden from human eyes: how storks take turns incubating eggs, how the male brings nesting material, how chicks grow and begin to exercise their wings before their first flight. For children and schoolchildren, such a webcam is a living biology textbook, showing the life cycle of birds without textbooks and pictures.
Seasonal life of the nest: what happens in different months
The life of a stork nest follows a strict seasonal rhythm. In March–April, a pair of storks returns from Africa — usually the male arrives first and begins repairing the nest. A few days later, the female arrives, and an exciting spectacle begins: mating rituals with characteristic bill-clattering that can be heard from a distance. In April, the female lays 3–5 eggs, and both parents take turns incubating them for about 33–34 days.
In May–June, chicks hatch from the eggs. This is the most vulnerable period: parents continuously forage for food, and the chicks grow quickly, demanding more and more food. By the end of July, young storks take flight, and in August the whole family prepares for migration. In early September, the storks leave the nest and set off on a multi-day journey across the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara to their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. The nest remains empty until the next spring, but the camera continues to operate, allowing observation of the winter landscape and the first signs of spring.
Ústí nad Orlicí and storks: urban identity
For the residents of Ústí nad Orlicí, storks are part of everyday life and urban identity. The official website of Ústí nad Orlicí directly mentions its status as a "stork town." Stork nests here are not a rarity but the norm — they are found on the roofs of private houses, schools, shops, and industrial enterprises. Local residents are proud of their feathered neighbors, and tourists interested in birds come here specifically to watch storks nesting in an urban environment.
The webcam at the nest on Lanškrounská Street has become one of the symbols of this unity between town and nature. It shows that even in an industrial zone, among concrete and metal, wildlife finds its place — if humans are willing to accept it. For Ústí nad Orlicí, storks are not just birds, but a living reminder that the urban environment can be part of the natural landscape, not its opposite.
What you can see on the camera
The online camera is positioned to show a close-up of the stork nest on the roof of the building. The nest is massive — built from many branches and sticks of varying thickness, typical of the white stork. The foreground clearly shows the structure of the nest: how the birds arrange the branches, forming a bowl-shaped depression for the eggs. During the nesting period, the storks themselves can be observed in the nest — how they sit on the eggs, how they feed the chicks, how they bring new branches to repair the structure.
In the background, a view of the Ústí nad Orlicí industrial zone opens up: commercial and industrial buildings, some with solar panels on the roofs, a parking lot with cars, and trucks. Behind the industrial zone, green plantings and trees are visible — the floodplain vegetation of the Orlice River. The contrast between the industrial landscape and the living stork nest creates a surprisingly harmonious picture. The camera operates in real time, allowing you to see the life of the nest at any time — from the spring arrival of the birds to the autumn migration to warmer lands.
