New arrivals for the Caribbean flock

1 July 2013

Can you spot a beady little eye poking out from a nest under the mass of legs of caring parent flamingos? The first Caribbean chick of the season hatched last week at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

There are new chicks in their somewhere. Parent and neighbour flamingos check out the new arrival that sits amidst a mass of pink legs. — There are new chicks in there somewhere. Parent and neighbour flamingos check out the new arrival that sits amidst a mass of pink legs.

Spot the chick... he or she is just to the left and you can make out a beady black eye peering over the edge of the nest. With several other eggs hatching, it should be joined by some more siblings soon.

The hard-work and dedication of Phil, Mark and the other aviculturists has been rewarded with two little grey bundles hatching first, and they are on track for several more to follow. The Caribbean flamingos have decided to nest at the back of their pen this year, rather than on the five-star flamingo nest mounds created by the avics for them. This means that views of the chicks will be a little tricky at present as they are in amongst a mass of adult birds. This is a good thing however, as it will keep the chicks and safe and warm on their nests until they are ready to take their first few wobbly steps and leave the nest site to explore their wider enclosure.

Flamingo chicks are precocial, meaning they hatch with a downy covering and their eyes open (unlike the chicks of a blue tit, for example, that hatch blind and naked and need to stay in the nest being constantly attended by their parents) and consequently when their legs are stronger and they are able to move with more coordination they will be off out of the nests as soon as they can. Keep checking back for more updates as the chicks grow and develop.