Every year the Painted Storks arrive in large numbers at Veerapuram, a small village on the border of Andhra Pradesh. This year they arrived one month later than usual and their number is estimated  3000. They occupy every tree in the little village and build their nests. The painted Stork is a protected bird by the government of India and protection it needs.

Survival becomes more and more difficult as the birds face many difficulties. By nature, when the autumn storms come , many young chicks fall from the nests. Many die but the ones that survive need to be rescued, fed and nursed as they cannot go back to the nest. The summer drought causes the lakes in the surrounding area’s to dry up and the adult birds find it difficult to find food for the young ones. They have to fly far away and sometimes don’t come back.
Their difficulties caused by humans are even more serious. The birds are shot down for food at the Karnataka border, they don’t return to the nest and their young starve to death. The fishermen chase away the birds, they dont allow them to fish; a conflict of interest!

To support the Painted Storks in their effort to survive, Karuna Society builds a nursery every year in the village, appoints one attendant to nurse and feed the birds and buy fish in large quantities. Wounded birds have to be brought to the Karuna Wildlife Center in Puttaparthi for treatment and by the end of the season hundreds of birds have to be fed.