Lessers in their new home.

22 July 2012

Whilst the greater flamingos in the new Flamingo Lagoon exhibit are the stars of the show, the lesser flamingos that have also recently moved into the revamped old greater flamingo pen (to the left of Flamingo Lagoon) have also settled in well. The avics have noticed that the flamingos seem to be more relaxed now that they have their own space, away from the jostling, noisy and argumentative young Caribbean flamingos that were sharing their old enclosure.

Relaxing with their whistling duck enclosure mates, the flock of lesser flamingos makes a peaceful and calm sight as birds sit down to snooze in the sunshine. Good views of the flock can be had near to the gate into the Australian Pen as birds like to collect on the grass underneath and around the big tree in their enclosure. Look out for small groups of closely bonded birds (like the three in the middle of this photo) that preferentially spend time with each other.

The lesser flamingos have taken a real liking to the large grassy bank on the right hand side of their pen and can often be seen snoozing or relaxing here, as well as to the old nest sites left behind by their larger cousins. Indeed, so appealing are these nest sites that several times already birds have been seen nest building on them. Let's hope that this behaviour spreads to many individuals in the flock and that this breeding activity reaps rewards.

The shallow water around the nest mounds is excellent flamingo mooching space, and the lessers have taken a real liking to this area of their new pen. The birds are spending more time around the nest sites here than in their old enclosure - excellent news to those that are trying to breed them!

Phil and the other avics have put in a great deal of effort with the lesser flamingos over the past couple of years to get them to breed as often as they can; as this species is becoming threatened in the wild, behaviours such as nest building in captivity get everyone that looks after them really excited. So make sure you don't overlook the lesser flamingos on your visit to Flamingo Lagoon - they are well worth watching for a while.