Flamingo chicks hatch at WWT Martin Mere
Four greater flamingo chicks have been born at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre.
The cold weather has meant that the flamingos were late to lay their eggs.
Twelve eggs have been laid so far this year; so the grounds team are still expecting many more chicks to hatch during the award winning Downy Duckling Week, starting Saturday 25 May to Sunday 2 June when visitors can watch and interact with the whole egg to duckling process.
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The flamingos, traditionally from the Mediterranean and parts of Africa, nest on bark chippings in their enclosure. They would usually make mud nests in the wild, but they have grown to prefer bark chippings after they were placed on their Island to assist the breeding of the eider ducks, who were found nesting on the chippings under the slide in the children’s play area.
Centre Manager, Nick Brooks, said: “All the greater flamingos that are at Martin Mere have been bred and raised in captivity which makes them very friendly and sociable birds, you can get very close and even hand feed them. It is very unusual for the birds to use bark chippings but great that the chicks have hatched close together as they form a crèche; giving the community the opportunity of seeing the parenting skills of the flamingos whilst the chicks are huddled together”.
The Greater Flamingos are one of six species of flamingos found in the world. They are the least vibrant coloured of the six species, being a pale salmon pink.
Flamingos are very social birds which need to be kept together in a large group in order for them to be happy. At Martin Mere there are currently have 57 greater flamingos and they choose the same partners every year. A single egg is laid by each pair and both the male and female take it in turns to incubate. Incubation takes approximately 30 days and all chicks are parent-reared as these social youngsters benefit from being with their mum and dad as well as with each other. In addition, adult flamingos produce a special crop milk to feed their babies on (- pigeons are the only other bird to do this). The fluffy chicks grow very quickly (up to 2cm a day) and they are fully-fledged by the age of 3 months. They are usually grey or white in colouring and it takes approximately 2 to 3 years to obtain full pink plumage.
Come and see them during the award winning Downy Duckling Week from Saturday 25 May to Sunday 2 June. The week is your unique opportunity to see and discover how ducklings develop inside an egg and breaks free from the shell into a young bird that you can meet whilst exploring the duckling nursery.
Activities include:
- Be amazed to hear and see ducklings inside eggs as we light them up at different stages of development in the free candling workshops.
- Watch a duckling chip away at an egg and break free from the shell at the free egg to duckling experience
- Walk around the nursery and see the cute sights of rare ducklings for free
- A selection of free guided walks and talks as well as den building and a selection of family crafts
- Take to the water and experience the canoe safari and boat tour attraction
For more information visit www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere
WWT Martin Mere is open every day from 9.30am to 5.30pm and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight centres.
