3 weeks ago
600 flamingo chicks ringed in Spain for migration to India
Every year, special volunteers in Spain wake up very early to help baby flamingos.
They carefully put little metal rings on the birds' legs, like bracelets with numbers.
These rings help scientists know where the flamingos go.
They also give the chicks a medical checkup to make sure they are healthy.
This is called the Flamingo Ringing Festival, and it has been happening for almost 40 years.
After the babies get their rings, they grow up and fly far, far away.
Some flamingos travel all the way to India for the winter.
They go to places like Rann of Kutch, where lots of flamingos gather.
Flamingos have a special superpower: glands near their eyes that remove extra salt from their bodies.
This helps them drink salty water and live in places other birds cannot.
Conservationists ringed 600 flamingo chicks with metal identification rings and medical checkups at Fuente de Piedra lagoon in Spain.
The Flamingo Ringing Festival, which began in 1986, turns 40 this year and authorises 400 volunteers annually.
As water levels drop, adult flamingos fly to Huelva and Doñana to forage, returning at night to feed their ringed chicks.
The birds migrate to India between October and March, landing in Rann of Kutch, Sambhar Lake, Sundarbans and Pulicat Lake.
Flamingos have supraorbital glands that filter excess salt from their blood, helping them survive saline waters like those of Kutch.
- Who
- Hundreds of conservationists and up to 400 authorised volunteers at Fuente de Piedra lagoon, along with biologists tracking the birds.
- What
- Fitting metal identification rings on 600 flamingo chicks and giving them medical checkups ahead of their migration.
- Where
- Fuente de Piedra lagoon in Spain; migration destinations in India include Rann of Kutch, Sambhar Lake, Sundarbans and Pulicat Lake.
- When
- Over the past weekend, during the Flamingo Ringing Festival, which turns 40 this year; migration to India occurs between October and March.
- Why
- To track flamingos as they migrate with their colonies; the migration is termed a vital ecological event that triggers tourism and conservation.
Key facts
- Chicks ringed
- 600
- Location
- Fuente de Piedra lagoon, Spain
- Festival
- Flamingo Ringing Festival
- Festival founded
- 1986
- Annual volunteers authorised
- 400
- Migration window to India
- October to March
- Indian habitats
- Rann of Kutch, Sambhar Lake, Sundarbans, Pulicat Lake
- Other migration origins
- Central Asia and the Middle East: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel
Quotes
Himanshu Tyagi
IFS officer explaining flamingo physiology
“"Flamingos have specialised supraorbital glands near their eyes that act as biological desalination plants – filtering excess salt from their blood and excreting it through their nostrils."”
theprint.in
Volunteer organiser
Representative of the Andalucía bird society describing the ringing process
“"The ringing of Greater Flamingo chicks is a highly organised affair and run with military precision."”
theprint.in
Sources
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