Disappearance Of Storks From German Villages

When I was a child, we would often go on Sunday outings to the country side. Driving through little villages, my dad would frequently note that back when he was a child, every church tower and many chimneys would have a stork's nest on the top. It were his memories, but not mine. I only knew storks from picture books, so did not feel the loss. When I was a bit older, we took a trip to the Alsace, and my most vivid memory is of a small town we visited - where every chimney had a stork's nest, and wherever you'd turn your head, you would see at least 2 of these impressive black and white birds. It striked me as something so unusual, so archaic that I now look up to the empty chimneys whenever I drive through the German villages, feeling the same loss that my father felt.