Yaren Stork, who has settled in her nest in Eskikaraağaç Stork Village when she comes back from migration every spring for 14 years, will go out to the lake again with her friend Adem Yılmaz throughout the summer. Yaren, who lands on Adem Yılmaz's boat in Eskikaraağaç Stork Village, spends spring and summer with him. Yaren Stork met with Adem Uncle last year on March 1. This year, she migrated late and landed in her nest on the evening of March 14. Yaren, who came to Adem Uncle's boat this morning, met with those waiting for her for the 14th time.
Adem Yılmaz, who was reunited with the stork Yaren, albeit late, said, "She used to come every year in the first week of March. This year, we were a little worried when the dates passed. Thank God, our Yaren came. We have been together for 6 months now. We go fishing together every morning. This year, her husband came first. Every morning, I feed them first and then go fishing. Yaren brought joy to our village. Yaren, whom we value very much as the Turkish Nation, has come. We are expecting our entire nation to Karaağaç."
The villagers, who got up before dawn with Uncle Adem and waited for the stork Yaren to arrive, also breathed a deep "ooh" when Yaren landed on the boat. The residents of the neighborhood said, "Yaren is our mascot. We have become so attached to her; she is not a normal animal for us."
Nature Photographer Alper Tüydeş, one of the heroes of the story that recorded Yaren and Uncle Adem's 14th reunion, said, "The story has come true in its 14th year. Yesterday, Yaren the stork first landed in the nest and reconciled with her mate. Today, her first job was to land on Uncle Adem's boat. This year, we were lucky enough to record that magnificent reunion. Everyone had been stressed for days. When Yaren arrived in the village, everyone's face smiled. Yaren became a symbol for all animal lovers. While waiting for Yaren, we learned about the difficulties storks go through during their migration journey. Thanks to Yaren, we learned about the hunting tradition that cost the lives of thousands of storks in Lebanon, which was like a massacre. Yaren became a symbol for this country. We are very happy to be reunited."
On the other hand, Eskikaraağaç Stork Village in Karacabey district of Bursa, the only village representing Turkey in the European Stork Villages Union, is on a migration route where tens of thousands of storks pass every year during the migration period. The village on the shores of Uluabat, Turkey’s 9th largest lake, is also home to resident storks.
This story, witnessed by Adem Yılmaz, who became friends with Yaren Stork, who landed on his boat while fishing in Lake Uluabat 14 years ago, gained international fame after it was photographed. The story was performed as a shadow play in Greece and became the subject of textbooks in Austria and Germany. In 2019, the documentary ‘Yaren’, filmed by Burak Doğansoysal and prepared with the contributions of Karacabey Municipality, returned from the Prague Film Awards with the title of best documentary. Last year, Karacabey Municipality had a statue of Fisherman Adem and Yaren Stork built, ensuring that the story was immortalized in the village square.
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Uedaş also carried out maintenance and repair on all poles for the storks to live healthily.
Yaren, who went to the boat with the first light of the morning and ate fish, later went to his wife Nazlı and gave pleasant images in his nest.