Flamingos are one of the most popular animals exhibited in animal collections. If you’re keen to learn more about them and delve deeper in the ways in which WWT keeps its flamingos then follow Paul's diary up-to-date with all things flamingo. Paul Rose is a PhD student from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, currently based in the Conservation Programmes Directorate at WWT, who is investigating the social behaviour of captive flamingo flock
Flamingo diary
Winter weather and flamingo friends
The cold weather continues and freezing temperatures bring that worst of all enemies to the flamingo - ice. Flamingos are not well designed to cope with iced-over water and it is one of the main causes of death in wild flocks, as well as the number one wa
11 December 2012
Migratory wildfowl and flamingo travellers?
I thought I would run a topical flamingo post for this time of the year as Slimbridge, and other WWT centres, are filling up with migrant wildfowl flocking to the UK to escape the worst of the Northern Hemisphere's winter weather. Much is known about t
4 December 2012
Flamingos in the flood.
The dreadful weather that the UK is experiencing at the moment has certainly increased the "wet" part of Slimbridge Wetland Centre. Today's venture into the world of the flamingo proved a very damp and flooded affair, with birds coming to terms with the
26 November 2012
The BIAZA Flamingo Focus Group
I thought I would just write a short piece on the meeting that I attended this week, alongside many other flamingo keepers and zoo professionals, at WWT Martin Mere, as part of the BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Bird Working
18 November 2012
An update on the new arrivals.
Can you spot the Martin Mere birds?! A quick installment on the new greater flamingos that arrived at WWT Slimbridge from WWT Martin Mere last week. The birds have all settled in well and have been integrated into the new flock. Flamingo transportation c
6 November 2012
Flamingo round-up at Martin Mere
Yesterday at WWT Martin Mere in Lancashire, a group of willing flamingo keepers, volunteers and aviculturists gathered to help with the round-up of the 90-strong flock of greater flamingos that reside in the big pen at the very entrance of the waterfowl
31 October 2012
Sorting out who's "top dog" (or "top flamingo", I suppose).
A couple of behaviours today that I observed amongst the small flock of juvenile Chilean and Caribbean flamingos that currently reside in the flamingo enclosure at the far end of the Big Pen (or "Swan Lake" as it is known on maps and in guide books). Thes
23 October 2012
The cosmetic flamingo
A bright story to enlighten these gloomy autumn evenings that have set in... It seems a bit weird but I am not making this up, scientists working on bird colouration and pigments have found out that greater flamingos (one the commonest species in captivit
16 October 2012
Looking like a real flamingo.
Out of all of the flamingo flocks to breed this year at WWT Slimbridge, the Caribbeans have certainly done the best and a swathe of new chicks graces the pink-filled enclosure opposite the Centre's restaurant. The chicks have now all changed into their ju
9 October 2012
How long in the tooth (beak)?
Delving through the literature on flamingo biology brings up a range of interesting, insightful and, at times, slightly odd pieces of work pertaining to these birds both in the wild and in captivity. I have found several pieces of work today reviewing the
1 October 2012
Y fflamingos Cymru
Today I took a trip over the Second Severn Crossing and journeyed into deepest, darkest (and windiest!) Carmarthenshire to visit WWT National Wetland Centre in Llanelli, for a chat with the folks there about their flock of Caribbean flamingos. As part of
24 September 2012
Accidental engineers?
I've just posted in the IUCN SSC Flamingo Specialist Group Facebook page about a new piece of science recently published that explains a link between flamingo behaviour and the ecology of their wetland habitats. Scientists working in the Rift Valley in Ea
18 September 2012
Never mind the neighbours.
It's very late in the year for flamingos to be breeding but this fact seems to have passed Slimbridge's flock of Chilean flamingos by. Visitors to the South American Pen will notice that there are several nests created right at the rear of the enclosure,
13 September 2012
Not quite pink all over...
Look closely at the flamingos next time you visit a WWT Wetland Centre that houses these birds and you see that whilst everyone associates the colour pink with them, not all feathers on a flamingo are of that hue. In fact some of the most important feathe
5 September 2012
Flamingos from above.
The good weather (don't blink as you'll miss it) that has been around over this weekend has been excellent for flamingo watching, and a really good way to get a view of the Caribbean flamingos to see what they are up to from a bird's-eye-view is to pop up
27 August 2012