The fifth egg appeared in Ukraine’s most famous stork’s nest on the evening of April 21. Odarka and Hrytsyk are now taking turns incubating the clutch, and the whole country is waiting for the chicks to hatch.
This news came from a Facebook post by researcher Iryna Sarazhynska.
A timeline of parenthood with multiple children
Since April 13, viewers of the YouTube channel "Leleka Hrytsko" have spotted new eggs in the nest every two days. Odarka brought joy with a new addition late in the evening each time. The researcher even published a detailed schedule of when the stork laid each egg:
- first: 13.04 at 23:48;
- second: 15.04 at 23:41;
- third: 17.04 at 23:14;
- fourth: 19.04 at 21:52;
- fifth: 21.04 at 21:17.
Now the stork "couple" is caring for their future offspring, incubating the eggs and protecting the nest in the Pyriatyn National Park in Poltava region. It usually takes about a month for a stork chick to hatch, so Hrytsyk and Odarka’s sons and daughters are expected to appear as early as mid-May.
“Let’s hope that neither the weather nor any other factors interfere with a successful incubation,” notes Iryna Sarazhynska.
Odarka mainly incubates the eggs at night, while Hrytsyk does so mostly during the day. The future stork mom periodically leaves the nest for extended periods. However, observers noticed that as soon as a stranger stork appeared in the sky, Odarka immediately returned to help her partner protect their home and young.
Why exactly five?
This is not the first breeding season for the storks under observation in this nest. Odarka already has a certain “tradition” – the female laid five eggs in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
What are the storks doing now?
The main battles for partners and for the nest with rival Lelem and competitor Kateryna have already subsided, so for now, there is nearly idyllic calm in the nest of Hrytsyk and Odarka, with only minor mishaps.
Notably, Hrytsyk continues to surprise everyone with his lack of building talent. After the struggle with competitors, part of the nest was damaged, so the stork keeps bringing new twigs to repair it, but he often misjudges the size. For example, large sticks, which viewers dubbed the "broom" and "fishing rod," could not be fitted into the nest and fell down.
EcoPolitic has previously written in detail about the true melodrama that took place in the stork nest at the start of the season. After all, Hrytsyk and Odarka were not the first storks to try to take over this popular spot.
