Flamingo diary
Flamingos are one of the most popular animals exhibited in animal collections. If you’re keen to learn more about them and delve deeper in the ways in which WWT keeps its flamingos then follow Paul's diary up-to-date with all things flamingo. Paul Rose is a PhD student from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, currently based in the Conservation Programmes Directorate at WWT, who is investigating the social behaviour of captive flamingo flock
The Indepedent Flamingo
Aside from my wanderings around, staring at and writing down about the Slimbridge flamingos, I am joined this year by two University of Exeter MSc students, Finn and Alyssa, who are helping categorise and evaluate the behaviour of the really large flock
13 June 2014
June update: chicks galore!
Greetings flamingo followers. I have just returned from my last week of data collection at Zoo Berlin where I have been comparing the behaviour of lesser and Andean flamingos to those in UK collections. I have come back to Slimbridge to find lots of yo
9 June 2014
Flamingo Lagoon chicks arrive!
Well having taken a break from this whole making babies thing in 2013, the greater flamingo flock in their new exhibit have got into breeding in a big way in 2014. A very big way. I won't disclose the actual number of eggs laid but it's a really impressiv
25 May 2014
Love Your Flamingos
This week, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is holding its annual initiative "Love Your Zoo" week. All WWT Centres that hold collections of exotic water birds are members of BIAZA. Testament to the excellent standards of car
24 May 2014
Breeding bonanza update
"Look at our lovely eggs". Two greater flamingos tend to their wooden eggs the same as they would incubate their actual one. The real egg gets given back to them as soon as it shows signs of being ready to hatch. Some
13 May 2014
How fast can a flamingo go?
Hello all, very quickly as I don't want to swamp with loads of posts all at once. The Andean flamingos have been putting on a real show this week, so if you are out and about at Slimbridge be sure to head to their enclosure (the Swan Lake / Big Pen flamin
30 April 2014
Inside the nesting colony
Hello flamingo followers. It's been a while since the last post. I've been gallivanting to Europe to stare at flamingos in Germany but I'm back at WWT for a while now, with lots to catch up on. During my absence the greater flamingos have gone into breedi
26 April 2014
Flamingo breeding activity; a few insights (3)
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuG3RvgnYMs'] Digging around in old scientific papers can be a really rewarding exercise. I am no biochemist or expert on pigmentation, but recently I took part in some filming of the birds at WWT Slimbridge and
8 April 2014
Caribbean round-up.
Patiently waiting their turn. A small group of Caribbean flamingos waits to be handled. The padding, straw and circular shape keeps them as comfortable and as calm as possible. Photo credit: K Brides. It's been a whil
27 March 2014
Flamingo breeding activity, a few insights (2)
Just another quick one on the spectacle that are love-struck flamingos at Slimbridge at present. A few nice bits of behaviour that have been occurring over the past week or so. It's not just the greater flamingos that have been getting into the spring of
17 March 2014
Want to see some happy flamingos?
Hello all. Just a short one as I wasn't expecting to be writing another update anytime soon but today's amazing weather (actual sunshine!) and distinct lack of continual rain has made the flamingos feel right in the mood for fun and frolics. Now, I am not
18 February 2014
Romantic flamingos this Valentine season?
As the 14th February comes and goes, and thoughts turned to cards and flowers and chocolates and romance, what of the partnerships that form between our feathered friends? As these fleeting dalliances for the sole purpose of producing youngsters or are t
15 February 2014
World Wetlands Day; a flamingo's perspective.
Lake Manyara in Africa's Rift Valley is an important environment for lesser flamingos to feed and rest in on their travels between the other lakes across Kenya, Tanzania and the like. The fragile nature of these soda lake
2 February 2014
Flamenco flamingo in the middle of winter.
Although it is only the start of the year, and no where near breeding time, the flamingos at WWT Slimbridge seem to be getting in the mood to think about eggs, and chicks, and youngsters... This week, I have seen a lot of dancing, head-flagging and milli
22 January 2014
New Year flamingos
Happy New Year flamingo followers! The month of resolutions and expectations. I have spent the past week or so ploughing through lots of data (mainly in the form of photographs of birds standing next to other birds) and I thought it would be nice to share
10 January 2014