A new year retrospective?
Happy 2016 flamingo followers! It's probably not the best way to start a new year by looking backwards but I thought I would share some lovely pictures that got posted to me just this week. I received two postcards from the 1980s (we think) and they are too good not to talk about. Technically they are old WWT postcards so I don't think I am breaking any copyright by popping them up here...
Recognise the enclosure...? This is the Andean Flamingo Pen in the condition that it was in from, well, not long after the birds arrived to the early 1990s. WWT's head of Conservation Breeding, Nige Jarrett, remembers the enclosure looking like this when he first started his career at Slimbridge in 1979 (am I allowed to give out all of these ages and dates...?!). Whilst pretty much all of the birds on show in this picture are Andean flamingos, there would have been around six James' flamingos too. But I can't make any out in the photo (do correct me- and give directions to where they are (!)- if you can find them).
Two things that I love about this photo. 1) the youngster in the middle at front (walking right towards the four birds feeding in the small concrete lined pool. He's got grubby grey legs and not quite the sparkle to his plumage as the adults. And 2) the little bunch of puna teal (small ducks in the front right hand corner), a species that are still to be found in with the Andean flamingos today.
Bringing things up to date, a shot of the enclosure from summer of last year. It looks slightly different these days, but it is still recognisable in part and, of course, the birds are still the same. The Andean flamingo's pen was altered with more water being added at the front and the islands re-landscaped, and the perimeter fence change,d in the 1990s. There was a time in Slimbridge history when all three South American flamingo species lived together in the South American Pen (when the enclosure in these photos was being altered), which would have been a tiny slice of Peru or Bolivia in the middle of Gloucestershire.
From another angle, and another modern image, some of the trees have gone and the pool is a different shape. As this flock has aged, Sparky and Phil have made the flamingo version of accessibility ramps for these grand old ladies and gentlemen, sanded entry and exit slipways help them retain their dignity when they wade into and out of the water. Which is just very lovely and caring right? :-)
And speaking of the birds themselves, can we determine any celebrity flamingos from these older snaps?
The other postcard that I received (above) is a beautiful image of a female (I think from its size) Andean flamingo with a brand new chick on their nest. These birds bred regularly, the last chick is recorded as from 1999, and you can still see some of their offspring today. Whilst it's very difficult to say who is who because lots of the original birds are still at Slimbridge (especially those that arrived in 1961-1962) it's a fair guess to say that you are looking at many of the same flamingos today as are captured in these pictures.
This old boy, JBB, who I have mentioned several times before, the eldest flamingo in this flock and one of the first pioneers to arrive, is most definitely a bird somewhere in that photo. JBB is tall, one of the tallest in fact, so maybe he is the bird walking to the left, middle-front, in the first postcard. Wishful thinking, but you never know!
I hope you've enjoyed this paddle down flamingo memory lane. Until next time, keep appreciating the pink birds (and the Andeans in particular!).
