A quick Chilean interlude
So it's well and truly the end of summer and the crunch of leaves and chilly mornings show that autumn is firmly entrenched. The flamingos are still tending to their chicks and birds are moulting into new plumage, with some of the pens littered with black primary feathers. To remind you all of warmer times, here is the glimpse into the heart of the Chilean flamingo colony that I promised in previous postings. Thanks to photos that Duckery Warden Phoebe had captured on one of the visits over to the colony to check on nests, eggs and chicks from this summer you can get a good idea of what the breeding birds do with their time. So here is a post dedicated to making baby Chilean flamingos.
It's been quite the year for Chilean hatchings at WWT centres. Some of you may be aware of the hatching of this species at WWT Washington, which has been the focus of much attention and excitement. Here is a link for those that wish to know more about this momentous event:
http://www.wwt.org.uk/news/all-news/2014/07/wwt-news-washington/first-flamingo-egg-in-seven-years-laid-at-wwt-washington/
Next week I am off to the USA to attend the Third International Flamingo Symposium (yes that's basically a big party for all of those people that love pink birds to get together and have man-a-flamingo-chat!) in San Diego. Dr Baz Hughes, bird and beer expert to the stars, from the Conservation Department, is also attending so I am sure there will be some good stories to tell in the future :-)
