Blackpool Zoo flamingo breeding delayed by weather
The breeding season has been delayed for the longest time on record by dry spring weather
Blackpool Zoo says the start of its flamingo breeding season was delayed for the longest time on record, because of dry spring weather.
The zoo said despite a special delivery of four tonnes of sand to Flamingo Lake earlier this year, the flamingos refused to begin construction as the conditions were not right.
Their nests, which are mounds made of sand and water, need to be located in a position that the flamingos can be sure will stay wet as they continually build them throughout the incubation period.
Keepers said "when the heavens finally opened, they wasted no time in getting to work on the next generation of fluffy flamingo chicks".
Chicks hatch with grey-white down and a straight beak, developing their pink colour over a few years as they consume carotenoid-rich foods.
Luke Forster, Deputy Section Head at Blackpool Zoo, said: “Caribbean flamingos are very social birds that are known for their elaborate nesting behaviours.
“They build their nests in large colonies, carefully shaping the mounds to protect their eggs, which are incubated by both and male and female birds.
“Both genders also produce crop milk to feed the chicks once they have hatched and, in some cases, pairs of the same sex will take on the responsibility of incubating and raising a chick, even if the egg isn’t theirs!"