Flamingo ringing returns to Fuente de Piedra after years of drought

Volunteers joined experts early on Saturday morning for the flamingo ringing day in the Fuente de Piedra wetlands. The volunteers, among them a group from Fundación Unicaja, helped to gather essential information about the birds, such as weight, wing span and other measurements as well as taking a blood sample to determine their gender.

Some 600 chicks were ringed, allowing ornithologists to keep track of factors such as death rate, reproduction and population trends. This year, following years of drought, 22,760 chicks have hatched in Fuente de Piedra of the around 34,000 pairs currently nesting in the reserve.

Flamingo ringing in Fuente de Piedra began in 1986. The chicks are marked with plastic rings with digits that can be read from a distance with a telescope. This allows experts to chart the birds' movements and study their use of wetlands as well as reproduction and survival rates.