Have you spotted our three flamingo chicks yet?

Three of our greater flamingo eggs have hatched!

Greater flamingos usually lay one egg and when chicks first hatch, they have pale grey down, which is soon replaced by a second, darker coat of down. Flamingos feed their chicks with ‘flamingo milk’ which is produced in their crop. This milk is similar to mammal milk but is produced by both male and female flamingos. They may only feed their chicks once every few days where their feeding area is distant from their breeding area. The chicks fledge at between 65 and 90 days old. 

These flamingos can be found over a large area, including West Africa, North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and southern and south-western Asia. They are found in shallow bodies of water such as saline lagoons, saltpans and saline or alkaline lakes, and also estuaries and coastal waters. They nest and roost on sandbanks, mudflats, islands or boggy, open shores.