Ringed White Stork, Hwange (Christmas eve 2011)

My wife and I were enjoying a Christmas eve in Hwange National Park when we passed a small group of White Storks Ciconia ciconia foraging in the new grass. At about the same time, Laurie and I spotted the rings on its left and right tibia and both shouted out with excitement! As Laurie managed to look through the bins and read the ring number, I turned the truck around to get closer for a picture.
The White ring on the right tibia had the number E492 in black lettering but we could not read anything off the smaller flat tag on the left tibia.
We have sent the details into various groups and it seems that the bird was ringed in Spain in 2011. This needs to be confirmed but it is very unusual as the Spanish birds normally don't travel south of the Sahel region. I will post more as and when we find out from the ringer.

May your 2012 be feather filled

The Hwange Birder