Birdwatch: white storks return to UK after 600-year absence

Scheme in West Sussex leads to first chicks of the species hatching in the wild since the 15th centuryThe sound was both primeval yet utterly fresh and new: a time-travelling throwback to the middle ages; yet, at the same time, a portent of a brighter future for our rural landscape.Like a rapid burst of machine-gun fire, the bill-clapping of a white stork is – in nature’s terms – simply a signal that the bird is displaying to its mate. But for me, it also has a deep cultural re