George Mathias
THE Laguna de Fuente de Piedra nature reserve hosted the return of the traditional ringing of flamingo chicks after a two year Covid hiatus.
The custom involves the placing of plastic rings with digits on the hatchlings that allow them to be tracked.
Since 1986, some 20,000 flamencos have been tagged for scientific purposes and to allow for better planning to protect the population in their natural habitat.
The tagged birds will be analysed throughout their life, making it possible to better understand the dispersion of the population, as well as their reproductive and grazing behaviors.
The information is essential both for the management of the breeding colony and for evaluating the effectiveness of the Andalusian Wetlands Network and requires a 400 person strong workforce.
In the early morning of July 30, the capture groups entered the lagoon to surround the flamingos and take them to the entrance of the capture pen.
After this, the ringing and marking of the chicks began, with each bird marked with a metal ring on the right leg and a plastic one on the left.
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