Flamingos in February

2845

Flamingos
I stopped off to walk Roxy down by the Salt Lake in Larnaca … I was hoping the Flamingos were still there and this time I managed to find a few … but rumour has it there’s about 10,000 to 15,000 here at the moment. It was about 4pm ish, and the winter sun was setting, the Flamingos scattered in patches, some on one leg, all nibbling Brine Shrimp, the fruits of the lake that attract them to Cyprus …

Migratory
The Flamingos rest here every winter, coming from various parts of the Mediterranean, including; Sardinia, Northern Italy, Turkey and Iran Salt Lakes, where they feast on Brine Shrimp which is their stable diet and the thing that makes them go from their birth colour of Grey to Pink as they mature …

Unique
For the past few years we have had the pleasure of the magnificent Black Flamingo thought to be unique and naturally attracting media attention from all around the world.  Experts believe this unusual birds colour is due to a highly rare condition known as ‘Melanism’, a genetic irregularity that causes it to generate more melanin than normal …

All Year
Its a beautiful sight and a very pleasant walk along the shore at this time of the year, quite stunning at sunset but often as not many of these wonderful birds stick around all year, or as long as there’s food and water in the lake, so pop down any time ! but tbh, the best time is very early in the morning 😉

Pink, Elegant and here all year !

More … 

kj
web
mail
fb
twit
youtube
gplus