Hungen Stork Webcam – See White Storks Raise Their Chicks

The Hungen Stork Webcam looks down into a white stork nest in Hungen, a small town in the Giessen district of Hesse, Germany. The nest is a wide, flat mound of piled sticks, and behind it the view runs out across a large field to a line of woodland on the horizon, with a paved yard, a couple of trailers and a tall lamp post off to the right. In spring and summer this is where a stork pair incubates its eggs and raises its chicks until they can fly. Outside the breeding season the nest can stand empty for months, and then the field, the sky and the passing weather carry the picture. The camera has been broadcasting on one unbroken live stream since July 2021.

About the Hungen Stork Nest

The nest is a private project. Roger Rahn, a master metalworker who took over his father’s metalwork and ironwork business in Hungen in 2006, built it on his own property, and the business runs the camera under its online name, RR-Metalldesign. Rahn passed his master’s examination in the metalwork trade in 1999, with distinction. A pair known to the nest’s followers as Nico and Nicole has bred here, and Nico can be told apart from his mate by the ring on his leg. The nest has drawn enough attention that the Hessian broadcaster hr, the radio station FFH and RTL have all reported on it.

The 2024 season shows how hard the first weeks can be. Five chicks hatched between 24 and 30 April, two of them on the first day. The youngest died on 4 May and a second by 8 May, which left three to grow up in the nest. A thread on the forum of LBV, the Bavarian bird and nature conservation society, followed each hatching and loss as it happened on the stream.

Hungen itself has 12,752 residents (end of 2025) and covers 86.78 square kilometers (33.5 square miles) along the Horloff, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) southeast of Giessen and 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) northeast of Friedberg. Its first written mention is dated 28 July 782. The camera faces open farmland rather than the old town, and its wide-angle lens bends the horizon into a gentle curve, with low wooded hills and a few farm buildings on the far left of the frame.

Weather and Climate in Hungen

Climate normals for Giessen, 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) to the northwest, are a good guide to conditions at the nest. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 4 C (39 F) and an average low of -1.2 C (30 F), so frost is common in winter and snow can cover the nest and the field alike. Spring warms quickly: April averages a high of 15.4 C (60 F) and a low of 4.2 C (40 F), and this is when the nest comes back to life, with the 2024 chicks hatching in the last week of April.

July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 C (77 F) and lows of 13.2 C (56 F), which falls in the weeks when the chicks are still in the nest. October brings highs of 13.9 C (57 F) and lows of 5.8 C (42 F). Giessen records about 627 millimeters (24.7 inches) of precipitation a year. In early autumn the field beyond the nest lies bare and ploughed, so the view turns into broad bands of brown earth, green margin and sky while the storks are away.

Things to Do Near Hungen

Hungen Castle stands about 15 meters (49 feet) above the Horloff. It was built from the mid-15th century onward, and in 1974 a group of owners bought it and restored it to its present condition. The Protestant town church, first recorded in 1286, and surviving stretches of the medieval town wall are in the same old town, so the three make an easy walk together.

The Roman frontier left its mark here too. Two Roman forts lie within the town’s territory, the fort at Inheiden and a small fort in the Feldheim forest, and the Hof Grass estate houses a Limes information center alongside the town archive. Every two years Hungen holds its Shepherds’ Festival, the event behind its nickname, the Shepherds’ Town. The Lahn-Kinzig railway stops in Hungen, linking it with Giessen in one direction and Nidda and Gelnhausen in the other, so the town works as a day trip without a car. For an overnight stay, the Rahn family that runs the camera also lets holiday apartments in Hungen, one of them named for its view of the Horloff.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more nests, and one more view of this part of Hesse, try these cameras.

• Pfreimd White Stork Nest Webcam
• Ogre Black Stork Nest Webcam
• Frankfurt Sachsenhausen Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Hungen stork nest located?

The nest is in Hungen, a town in the Giessen district of Hesse in central Germany. It sits on the property of a local metalwork business, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) southeast of Giessen and 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) northeast of Friedberg, with open farmland on its far side.

What can you see on the Hungen Stork Webcam?

The camera looks down on the stick nest from close range, with a large field, a tree line and the sky behind it. In the breeding season the frame can show the adults sitting on eggs, chicks being fed and birds landing with fresh sticks. Outside it, the nest is usually empty and the farmland becomes the view.

Why is the Hungen stork nest empty?

White storks are migrants. After the chicks have fledged and the summer ends, the birds leave the nest and spend the winter farther south, so the camera shows an empty nest through autumn and winter. The stream keeps running all year, and storks usually come back to the nest in spring.

What are the names of the Hungen storks?

The breeding pair is known as Nico and Nicole. Nico wears a leg ring, which is the easiest way to tell the two apart on the stream.

How many chicks hatched in the Hungen stork nest in 2024?

Five chicks hatched between 24 and 30 April 2024. Two died in early May, on 4 May and by 8 May, and the remaining three grew up in the nest.

Who runs the Hungen Stork Webcam?

Roger Rahn, a master metalworker in Hungen, built the nest on his property and streams it on YouTube through his business, RR-Metalldesign. The same live stream has been running since July 2021.

What is the weather like in Hungen?

Hungen has mild summers and cool winters. Nearby Giessen averages highs of 25 C (77 F) in July and 4 C (39 F) in January, with lows just below freezing in midwinter and about 627 millimeters (24.7 inches) of precipitation a year.

Why is Hungen called the Shepherds’ Town?

Hungen takes the nickname from its Shepherds’ Festival, a traditional event the town holds every two years.

Source: RR-Metalldesign