Some 700 pairs of white storks live all year round in Plana de Lleida, according to figures from environmental organizations. They do not emigrate. Moderate winters and food in municipal dumps invites them to stay looking for bell towers and electrical towers to nest.
The electric company Endesa has had to put its batteries to make its infrastructure compatible with new tenants to avoid electrocutions and supply cuts, especially when they land or take flight, with their wings touching some element. In the Segrià alone, the company has adapted more than 350 supports since 2017 with an investment of 630,000 euros.
To make it easier for storks to nest, as a pilot test, Endesa has just installed a unique prototype in Catalonia in ten towers, between Torregrossa and Ivars d'Urgell, a structure made of fiberglass and mineral-filled resins, developed in Lleida , which covers the head of the tower. Weighs just. Its shape and volume have been calculated taking into account the wind.
The presence of storks in Lleida has caused tensions at times. The spokesperson for the Ipcena environmental association, Joan Vázquez, assures that, although the institutions have to ensure its preservation, they have not always done so. Ipcena battled with the Bishopric for the maintenance of nests in Lleida Cathedral while the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, for its part, periodically installs artificial nests.
The presence of these birds is also reflected in the streets. Two years ago, the artist Oriol Arumí painted the 'Mural de les cigonyes' on the façade of a building between Segre avenue and Lluís Roca street
Ipcena plans to ask the new Lleida City Council in September "to get involved and Lleida be declared the city of storks", Vázquez has advanced.
