Nakuru Flamingos
Dawn glowing pink on millions of Lake Nakuru’s flamingos is one of Africa’s most beautiful sights. King & King bespoke African safaris will take
you to them. High flamingo death rates may be from natural volcanic contamination or algae poisoning. They live for 50 years and fly at 60 kph. Baboons eat them.
One of Africa's most memorable sights is a flock of
flamingos on one of the soda lakes of East Africa.
Lake Nakuru in Kenya is [or was] no exception - was
because this bird is nomadic and flocks move on,
sometimes flying several hundred kilometres a night
between lakes at speeds of up to 60 kph. Numbering
up to a million at a time, the glow of their wing edges
is reflected across the water - a magical moment at
dawn and sunrise when they may be predated by
baboons.
It is the algae in soda lakes which attract these birds
and it is red green algae and pink coloured
invertebrates that results in pink carotenoid pigments
being deposited along wing edges which provide us
with the dramatic pink vistas on the lakes, a fact
underscored by the young which are largely white
with black wing edges and legs.
Among the algae are to be found small forms of
larger insects, larvae, molluscs and small fish.
Flamingo feed by wading in shallow water with their
bent beaks turned half upside down and their heads
sweeping from side to side to collect food. Their
spiny tongue helps to harvest food-laden water past
membranes in their bills which filter out unwanted
water and other material too large to eat. They may
well feed like this while swimming and quite often
stir lake mud floors with their feet to release more
food.
Invariably they seek fresh water to drink.
The Greater Flamingo is up to 1m 40cm tall with
a four meter wing span. It is to be found in all of
southern Africa, though not in such numbers as
those frequenting Nakuru, as well as East Africa up
to the Red Sea.
As with geese they often give out a double "honk
honk" in flight when they fly in long skeins all
honking together, a not-to-be-forgotten sight and
sound as the sun goes down over Africa's massive
savannahs as they take off for their night flight.
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