Ukrainian developers have created an application to count storks

Ukrainian developers have created a mobile app to track the number of storks.

This information became known from a message by the Ukrainian Society for Bird Protection.

The Society notes that the data collected is important for scientists and necessary for monitoring the stork population and developing conservation measures for this bird species.

"Ukraine has one of the largest stork populations in Europe - approximately 35-45 thousand nesting pairs," scientists note.

How will it work?

To account for storks, scientists need the following information:

• when the birds returned to Ukraine;
• how many pairs occupied nests;
• how successfully they raised offspring (how many chicks grew up and left the nest for each pair).

According to international methodology, a nest is considered occupied if a stork pair stayed near it for at least a month, regardless of the nesting result. It is noted that the number of chicks is best counted in the second half of June - first half of July, when they have already grown up.

The data can be provided via smartphone using a special module developed by the Society's experts based on the international nature conservation data collection program SMART.