‘They do look majestic’: tears and pride as first white storks set free in Cornwall

Twenty-one birds released on Bodmin Moor where it is hoped they will one day return to produce their own young

They took a little coaxing at first – after all, they had got used to a safe, comfortable aviary tucked away in woodland on the edge of Bodmin Moor. But after a few minutes, the birds stepped out into freedom and the bolder ones were soon soaring into the blue, the first white storks to be released into the wilds of Cornwall.

Yan Swiderski, the founder of the Cornwall Stork Project, had tears in his eyes. “I do feel a bit emotional,” he said. He sounded a little like a proud father wanting to play down the achievements of his offspring – and failing. “They’re a little bit clumsy at the moment. They aren’t used to flying free … but they do look majestic, don’t they?”