The activity budget quantifies time and describes how animals spend their time among various activities such as foraging, self-maintenance, and reproduction. The study investigated how Lesser Adjutant Storks (Leptoptilos javanicus) adjust their behaviour in response to human disturbance in Janakinagar-Murtiya Important Bird and Biodiversity Area of Nepal. Using the Focal Animal Sampling method, we captured 600 minutes of video footage along road transects over two seasons (summer and winter 2023). The behavioural analysis revealed significant shifts: during summer, the storks spent 47.18% of their time on vigilance, while in winter, they devoted 26.2% of their time to feeding. This indicates that storks prioritize vigilance to mitigate risks from human interference. As human disturbance increases, species exhibits a stronger preference for vigilance over other activities. The data shows that vigilance takes precedence over feeding, highlighting an increased focus on vigilance in response to heightened disturbance (p < 0.05). This strategic shift underscores the importance of vigilance for the storks’ survival in their habitat. Our findings, including a significant behavioural shift (df = 3, χ² = 1174.95, p < 0.05), emphasize the need to understand how disturbance influences stork behaviour for effective conservation. By comprehending these patterns, conservation efforts can be tailored to mitigate the impact of human activities on stork populations.