Flocks of wild Andean and Chilean flamingos have also been photographed marooned in the middle of their feeding lakes in Argentina, frozen into the ice. Too much snow means the flamingos cannot move to new feeding areas so they have to wait and hope the weather thaws out in time. Wild flocks in the south of France have been cared for by wildlife rescue organisations when their pools have frozen over and the flamingos have had no access to food. Iced over water can be very bad for the health and welfare of wild flamingos. The lesser flamingo flock at WWT Slimbridge is very well-behaved and knows when to put itself to bed. The lesser flamingos are actually rather cute to watch at this time of the year and will all trundle inside when it starts to get dark, putting themselves to bed.įollow the leader. The little lesser flamingo, weighing around one kilo, likes the heat lamps that are installed in the roof of its house (in fact all flamingo houses have heaters in them) and the birds can be seen stomping up and down, performing their marching behaviour when the heaters get turned on. the Caribbean flamingos (juveniles and old age pensioners) are paddling around in their heated house. They still don't like freezing water though. Just as their biology dictates, Andean and James' flamingos are more suited to the cold much better than other species. In fact, there is a nice example of this right now, with this chilly November weather driving the juvenile Caribbean flamingos into the house they share with the Andean flamingos whilst the house's namesakes all do their thing outside. The more tropical birds, Caribbeans and lessers for examples, are more sensitive souls and like their home comforts. The Andean flamingos and Mr James are hardy birds, coming from the high altitudes of South America so they can be found outside even when we humans are layered up in gloves, scarves, hats and winter coats. The different species of flamingo use their houses differently, dependent on the weather. and maybe even freezing over winter.įlamingos and ice do not mix (more on that later) so in order to ensure that they can continue to thrive over the winter the birds will be fed and sheltered inside their houses on cold days. These indoor houses are really important for keeping flamingos happy and healthy in different times of the year. If you wander around the grounds of any of the WWT centres that keeps flamingos you will find large indoor houses (think enormous garden shed but more damp) attached to each flamingo enclosure.
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