Thirteen years ago, a destitute fisherman in a quaint Turkish village was in the process of retrieving his net from a lake when he heard a noise behind him. As he turned, he was greeted by a majestic creature standing on the bow of his rowboat.

This magnificent being was adorned with gleaming white feathers covering its head, neck, and chest, transitioning into black plumes on its wings. It perched atop slender orange legs that closely matched the color of its elongated, pointed beak.

The fisherman, Adem Yilmaz, immediately recognized it as one of the white storks that had traditionally summered in the village. However, he had never encountered one in such close proximity, let alone on his boat.

Curious if the bird was hungry, he tossed it a fish, which was swiftly devoured. He repeated this gesture, offering more fish to the unexpected visitor.

Thus began an improbable saga of a man and a bird that has mesmerized Turkey over the years. A local nature photographer’s adept social media campaign has furthered the duo’s narrative, transforming it into a contemporary tale of interspecies companionship.

The stork, affectionately named Yaren, or “companion” in Turkish, not only revisited Mr. Yilmaz’s boat frequently that initial year but also returned to the same village, the same nest, and the same boat each spring after migrating south for the winter.

Upon Yaren’s 13th consecutive appearance in the village last month, local media eagerly covered his arrival akin to the annual springtime sighting of Punxsutawney Phil.

The duo’s remarkable journey has brought unexpected renown, though not considerable wealth, to Mr. Yilmaz, 70, and Yaren, approximately 17 years old. They have been featured in a children’s book and an award-winning documentary. Additionally, a children’s adventure film showcasing Mr. Yilmaz (and a digitally rendered stork) is slated to premiere in cinemas nationwide in Turkey this year.

Enthusiasts of storks worldwide can observe Yaren and his partner, Nazli (meaning “coquette” in Turkish), engage in various activities like preening, contorting their necks, clacking their beaks, tending to their nest, and occasionally mating. This is made possible through a 24-hour webcam established by the local government.

Ali Ozkan, the mayor of Karacabey, which encompasses the village, affirmed in an interview that this is not a mere tale but a genuine story imbued with a fantastical essence. The bird’s celebrity status has bolstered efforts to boost local tourism, with the development of walking paths, coffee shops near lakes and wetlands, and the implementation of a stork “master plan” to support the birds.

Initially met with skepticism from constituents regarding his involvement with storks, Mayor Ozkan now receives reports from residents concerning damaged nests, illustrating the community’s heightened…

The narrative has placed Mr. Yilmaz’s village of Eskikaraagac, with a population of 235, on the tourism map, attracting groups of students and tourists who wander its narrow streets to witness the storks and embark on boat rides on neighboring Lake Uluabat. Many visitors seek out Yaren’s nest, situated on a platform atop an electric pole near Mr. Yilmaz’s residence, and express awe when encountering the fisherman, bombarding him with inquiries and posing for photographs.

One morning, Mr. Yilmaz stood in his modest, two-story abode’s yard, clutching a tub of fish he had caught. Up in their nest, Yaren and Nazli dozed, groomed themselves, and filled the air with the resonant clacking of their beaks.

“Yaren!” Mr. Yilmaz called.

Both birds swooped down to the yard, and Mr. Yilmaz tossed fish into their beaks.

“They’ve had their fill,” Mr. Yilmaz declared after the birds consumed about two dozen fish. “After 13 years, I can discern.”

For generations, storks have nested in the village, arriving in the spring to mate before embarking on their migration southward in late summer towards Africa.

Village elders recollect a time when stork nests seemed to adorn every rooftop, requiring residents to prevent the birds from pilfering laundry off outdoor lines. However, the villagers cherished the birds, for their arrival coincided with the blossoming of pink flowers on almond trees, signaling the onset of spring.

Ridvan Cetin, the village’s elected authority, divulged that a headcount in the 1980s revealed 41 active nests, housing a tally of 82 storks, excluding offspring.

This year, the village boasts solely four active nests, with Yaren’s abode being one of them.

“Presently, their numbers are significantly diminished,” Mr. Cetin lamented.

None among the village populace could recall a bond akin to that shared between Mr. Yilmaz and Yaren.

“This truly is unprecedented,” remarked Mr. Cetin.

For Mr. Yilmaz, a reserved individual with weathered hands and a kind, weather-beaten countenance, Yaren bestowed an unforeseen blessing upon what he aspired to be a tranquil, late chapter in an otherwise turbulent life.

Raised in poverty, Mr. Yilmaz’s father withdrew him from school to toil in the fields and fish, regardless of the harsh weather conditions.

“My life oscillated between the fields and the lake,” he recounted.

His mother passed away when he was 13. His father remarried when he was 17 to a woman whom Mr. Yilmaz did not favor. Consequently, armed with only an elementary school education, he fled to Bursa, the nearest metropolitan area, where he secured employment in a dairy factory.

At 19, he wedded another villager he had known since childhood. Following the demise of their first child, a daughter, merely weeks after her birth, he worked in various dairy factories whilst raising his two sons and a daughter with his wife.

In 2011, with his children now grown and residing elsewhere with his five grandchildren, he bid adieu to employment, returning to the village and retreating to his childhood domicile next to the lake where he had fished as a juvenile.

“It had been my aspiration since I commenced working to return to my village and fish,” he reflected.

Shortly thereafter, the stork landed on his boat.

Each time Yaren departed, Mr. Yilmaz harbored doubts regarding his return. However, after a few years, he ceased fretting.

“I was convinced that as long as I remained alive, this bird would come back,” he affirmed.

Initially, the villagers paid little heed to Mr. Yilmaz’s friendship with a stork. They teased him or labeled him as wasting his time—and his fish.

This perception shifted in the fifth year when Alper Tuydes, a former hunter turned wildlife photographer employed by the local government, commenced sharing images of the duo on social media. The tale proliferated, gaining momentum annually with Yaren’s arrival each spring.

Turkish ornithologist Omer Donduren remarked that the relationship between man and bird aligns with established stork behaviors.

While storks eschew direct interaction with humans, they frequently roost near them, be it on rooftops, in chimneys, or atop electricity poles.

The birds exhibit a proclivity for monogamy, displaying loyalty to their nests. Despite parting ways with their partners during migration, they reconvene at the same nest each spring for breeding.

This pattern might elucidate why Yaren has consistently set up residence near Mr. Yilmaz’s household, Mr. Donduren suggested.

Remarkably long-lived, storks can survive over two decades in the wild and surpass three decades in captivity. Possessing robust memories, they can recollect migration routes spanning the distance from Northern Europe to destinations thousands of miles south, such as South Africa. Yaren’s whereabouts post-departure from the village remain ambiguous, although a tracker affixed to one of his offspring documented the bird’s journey across several countries before malfunctioning.

Over time, Yaren’s interactions with Mr. Yilmaz have likely become ingrained in his memory, according to Mr. Donduren.

“Nature allows scant room for sentiments,” stated Mr. Donduren. “For the stork, it all boils down to easy sustenance. It thinks, ‘Here is a convenient food source. This man appears harmless. He does not pose a threat to me.'”

Mr. Yilmaz’s rationale is far more straightforward.

“It is merely the act of loving an animal,” he professed. “They are creatures of God.”

One morning, Mr. Yilmaz maneuvered his boat onto the lake, drawing up his net to reel in small fish.

“Yaren!” he beckoned.

The stork took flight, executing a loop to survey the boat, before alighting on a lamppost near the shore.

“Yaren!” Mr. Yilmaz called out once more.

The bird ascended into the air once more, eventually landing on the boat, where Mr. Yilmaz proceeded to bestow fish after fish upon his companion.

After a while, the stork took flight, circled the village, and returned to his nest.

“That concludes our routine,” Mr. Yilmaz affirmed with a contented grin. “He is sated.”