Thanks to the recent heavy rains and also snow melt from Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's largest mountain (and the world's highest free standing mountain) just over the border in Tanzania, the low lying areas around the airstrip were full of water and flamingo! We were here 4 years ago, almost to the day, and there was not one pink beauty to be seen then.
Mt Kili behind, the clouds already building and obscuring its peak, gave a lovely reflection on the lake.
Naturally, we spent a long time here and 1000s of photos were taken. I suggest if you're not a flamingo fanatic you skip the rest of this post as it's all about these comical, photogenic creatures. It's practically impossible to portray the sheer number of birds in the shallow water, with both Greater and Lesser species happily mixing together.
The main difference between the two species is the markings on the bill.
They all feed primarily on Spirulina, an algae which grows only in very alkaline lakes so their presence near water bodies is an indication of sodic alkaline water which is not suitable for irrigation use. Although blue-green in colour, the algae contain the photosynthetic pigments which give the birds their pink colour. The water is only a few inches deep and the flamingos constantly trawl backwards and forwards filtering tiny food particles through their specialised deep bills and making a funny chuntering noise as they do so.
