Flying the nest
Chicks grow up fast in Torrevieja
THE NESTS used by flamingoes which reproduced for the first time at La Mata-Torrevieja natural park are slowly being abandoned – and some of the chicks have already got themselves into bother.
Torrevieja town hall biologist Juan Antonio Pujol revealed last Friday that the nesting process, which started in the spring, has concluded.
He noted that it has been a ‘resounding success’.
However, one of them ‘got lost’ at the weekend and ended up in Orihuela Costa.
Sr Pujol explained that the young bird was collected by lifeguards at La Zenia.
They ensured that the flamingo could receive a thorough medical examination and it was sent to the Santa Faz fauna recovery centre in Alicante for treatment.
According to Sr Pujol, the birth of the flamingo chicks at Torrevieja salt lake was a ‘historic event’.
The regional environment department confirmed that around 1,000 pairs of flamingoes gathered at the lagoon and constructed nests on a raised area in the centre of the lake.
Park staff estimated that more than 600 chicks were born but the inaccessible nature of the breeding ground made it difficult to count them.
They noted that generally there is only one egg per nest.
“Since we’ve had records we have never before registered that the flamingo has managed to reproduce here,” a spokesman told Costa Blanca News three months ago.
“We have only recorded frustrated attempts, such as at La Mata lake in 2001.”
He added that the large number of chicks produced was also a record for a Valencia region wetland.
Park staff noticed that nests were being built during the first two weeks of May.
The spokesman said flamingoes need ‘absolute tranquillity’ in order to breed and also a large colony and adequate water levels.
Coronavirus confinement helped to create this ‘peace’, along with the fact that salt was not being extracted from the lake.
Heavy rain also reduced the salinity of Torrevieja lake, which ‘increased the food supply’ for the wading birds.