Winged Messengers of Spring: Storks Grace Kurdistan’s Skies Again
For Kurds, the stork (leklek) is a sacred sign of renewal. Its spring return is seen as a blessing, and its presence is linked to peace, protection, and spiritual tradition.
By Kamaran Aziz
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - With the arrival of spring, a familiar and graceful presence has returned to the skies and landscapes of the Kurdistan Region. White storks—long revered as symbols of renewal and the changing seasons—have resumed their seasonal migration through Iraq, reclaiming their nesting grounds along electricity pylons and open fields after years of environmental and conflict-driven absence.
One of the most visually arresting sights comes from the main road stretching between Bardarash and Rovia in Duhok province, where the silhouettes of stork nests atop high-voltage towers create a striking contrast against the sky. These storks have lived in this area for nearly half a century, local residents say, but their conspicuous absence in recent years had raised concerns among ecologists and birdwatchers alike. Their reappearance this spring is seen as both a natural wonder and a hopeful sign.
The return of the storks to the Kurdistan Region comes amid broader seasonal migrations, as flocks travel from Africa to their breeding grounds in Europe. According to environmental observers, storks have recently been sighted in Erbil and Duhok provinces, particularly resting in the Harir area near the Greater Zab River in northern Erbil. Their passage typically occurs in March and April, aligned with rising temperatures and the onset of the European breeding season.
For ornithologists and conservationists, the return of the storks is more than a seasonal event—it is a barometer of regional environmental health. According to Shafaq News, storks have also been spotted nesting on electricity pylons between Baghdad and Babil, signaling that Iraq’s critical position on one of the world’s primary bird migration corridors remains intact despite years of environmental degradation and conflict.
The storks’ extended absence in past years has been attributed to a combination of war-related disruptions and shifting climate patterns. Experts note that in neighboring Turkiye, some stork populations have ceased migrating altogether, choosing instead to overwinter in warmer regions that were once only seasonal stopovers. This behavioral change has been linked to broader patterns of global warming, with storks adapting to changes in food availability and temperature.
Local residents and travelers have welcomed the return of the storks, whose presence has added a poetic and serene quality to the region’s springtime landscape. Their nests, perched high above roads and valleys, offer a reminder of the interconnectedness between wildlife and human infrastructure in a region where electricity towers have become surrogate trees for migratory birds.
Yet for many Kurds, the significance of the stork—known locally as leklek—transcends ecology and enters the realm of sacred tradition. As detailed in a recent scholarly study by Kurdish researcher Himdad Mustafa titled The Mythical Symbolism of Birds Among the Kurds, these birds are steeped in layers of cultural meaning.
According to 19th-century accounts cited by Mustafa, storks were believed to undertake annual pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina. Their return in spring was thus seen not merely as a biological migration, but as a spiritual homecoming bearing divine blessings. In folklore, old storks were said to perish during the sacred journey, while the young would return, bearing the torch of life and renewal.
The very name leklek was traditionally interpreted as a reverential invocation: “To Thee praise, to Thee thanks.” This symbolic reverence was not metaphorical alone. As French anthropologist Ernest Chantre observed during his travels in Mukri Kurdistan in the late 1800s, harming a stork could provoke social outrage, and their nests were viewed as auspicious signs, especially when built atop homes or sacred spaces.
In Kurdish oral tradition, the stork sometimes overlaps with the mythic bird Sīmir (a regional cognate of the Persian Simurgh), a divine creature known for its miraculous aid to heroes and appearance in religious visions among Yarsani and Yezidi communities.
Mustafa notes that in many Kurdish folktales, it is the stork—or a stork-like bird—that carries the hero across forbidden realms or returns him from death, underscoring its role as a bridge between worlds.
Birds more broadly occupy a central place in Kurdish ritual and cosmology. They are released during wedding ceremonies to symbolize union and hope; feathers are used in healing rites or to aid the soul’s passage into the afterlife. In one tale, a stork shadows a farmer throughout the seasons, guiding his work and watching over his family—a pastoral guardian with celestial intuition.
Material culture also reflects this deep-seated bird lore. Among Yazidi and other Kurdish groups, traditional rugs often feature stylized bird motifs woven beside sun patterns, evoking the region’s Zoroastrian heritage and fire-worship symbolism. These motifs remind us that, for the Kurds, the natural and divine are not separate domains but intimately interwoven.
As Mustafa poignantly concludes, the leklek “should be seen as an important cultural symbol of the Kurds, equal in significance among the Kurdish mythological pantheon to the sun and trees.” In an era marked by ecological crises and cultural upheaval, the stork’s return is more than a migratory marvel—it is a spiritual echo of Kurdish continuity and reverence for the sacred cycles of nature.
As the Kurdistan Region continues to balance modernization with environmental conservation, the myths and realities surrounding the stork offer both inspiration and warning: that the health of the land and the preservation of identity may be carried on the wings of those who have always known the way home.
This broader concern for birdlife in Kurdistan was underscored in a December 2024 report by journalist Ayub Nuri for New Region, which focused on the work of Dr. Korsh Ararat, a leading ornithologist and professor at the University of Sulaimani. Dr. Ararat, who spoke at the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, emphasized that “our birds are part of our identity” and called for bird protection to be treated as a cultural value and a governmental priority.
Dr. Ararat has identified five bird species unique to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and contributed to the documentation of 35 others. His research estimates at least 370 bird species inhabit the region, including storks, vultures, eagles, falcons, wild geese, and the iconic Kurdish wheatear—all of which are deeply embedded in Kurdish folklore and ecological memory. However, at least 14 species are now listed on the IUCN Red List of endangered species, including the extinct bald ibis.
In response, Dr. Ararat has advocated for the creation of bird sanctuaries and protected areas in ecologically vital locations such as Piramagroon Mountain, Qaradagh, Barzan, Halgurd-Sakran, and Darbandikhan. He also voiced concern over a generational disconnect from nature, noting that traditional bird knowledge is fading among youth. Illegal trafficking, habitat loss, deforestation, pesticides, climate change, and shrinking water surfaces are among the main threats to the region’s avian life.
Despite these challenges, Ararat remains hopeful, insisting that reconnecting youth with nature is a vital step toward preserving Kurdistan’s ecological future. Among the species he highlights, the white stork remains a potent symbol of biodiversity and cultural continuity. Its return each spring is not only a natural event but also a call to protect what endures in Kurdistan’s skies—and what must never be lost.
