Rescue Board (Päästeamet) personnel in Ida-Viru County received an unusual call-out at the weekend, after a stork got itself stuck in a chimney stack, agricultural weekly Maaleht reported.
The authority received a call at just before 5 p.m. on Saturday to the village of Uniküla, Lüganuse municipality, and were able to locate the trapped bird, which had got itself wedged in the far corner of an unused stove.
The Rescue Board members were able to extract it unharmed, after which it flew off.
Maaleht reported that the bird may have been a youngster which had only recently flown the nest.
While the species are famous for nesting alongside human habitation, storks can present a danger if they feel threatened, and in particular when they have chicks.
In such situations, call the national helpline on 1247 (operators speak English) and not the emergency number.
White storks are summer visitors to Estonia and pairs often return to the same nests year in year out. Estonia is at the northernmost extent of the species’ range even in summer. White storks can occasionally be seen in Finland but do not usually breed there.
The rarer black stork is shy of humans and is only found in remote locations.
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