Docufilms.com ^®

Busy activity atop the Church of San Miguel in the middle of the town of Alfaro in Eastern Spain, where 120 stork families live in the largest stork colony in the world. In Summer, when the young have grown, things get crowded, with over 500 white storks living on the roof of the church. With its many nooks and crannies, spires and towers, the structure is ideal for the sociable avians. While they once were shy and bred in tall trees, the graceful birds have long since discovered the advantages of breeding in proximity to human settlements, where they are safe from predators. In the nearby swamplands of the Rio Ebro, they find a rich assortment of fish, mice, frogs and worms. And if all else fails, the garbage dumps around Alfaro offer enough nourishment for the colony. But the colony is nonetheless endangered: The decrepit old roof of the church is in danger of collapsing under the weight. In order to remodel the roof, however, the stork colony will have to go. But the inhabitants of Alfaro are willing to fight for ´´their´´ storks: They are convinced that it is no coincidence that Alfaro not only has the largest stork population, but also the most twin births in all of Spain.