A TOTAL of 600 flamingo chicks have been ringed at the Fuente de Piedra Nature Reserve near Malaga, as the site notches up its best breeding season in over four decades.
More than 400 volunteers descended on the wetland before dawn on Saturday, completing the delicate operation in just four hours.
It comes after a bumper year for the colony, which has swelled to 35,177 breeding pairs — the highest figure recorded since monitoring began in 1984.
In total, 15,500 chicks have been counted this season, the third-best tally on record for the reserve, according to the Junta de Andalucia.
The turnaround marks a dramatic shift in fortunes for Fuente de Piedra, which just three years ago was left bone dry by Spain’s punishing drought, forcing flamingos to abandon their nests altogether.
This year’s rebound has everything to do with rain. The last year has been the fourth wettest in the area in half a century, with 663 litres of rain per square metre recorded so far.
That pushed water levels to 101cm in March — more than double the usual peak — allowing the colony to spread across two breeding sites, the Isla de Senra and the Canchones del Suroeste.
Regional sustainability chief Fina Martinez, who joined Fuente de Piedra’s mayor Siro Pachon and reserve director Africa Lupion for Saturday’s ringing, said the exercise “demonstrates that protecting our natural heritage is a shared task.”
Vets and technicians from Cordoba Zoo also took part for the first time this year, helping treat any birds injured during capture, alongside Civil Protection crews and local volunteers organised into six marking teams.
The ringing programme itself turns 40 this year. Since 1986, more than 21,000 chicks have been fitted with the distinctive, remotely-readable rings. These allow scientists to track populations over time and are an important part of conserving flamingo populations in Spain’s threatened wetlands.
Over 70% of these birds have been spotted again, generating 167,000-plus sightings across 23 countries.
Recognised as a Wetland of International Importance since 1983 and protected under the EU’s Natura 2000 network, Fuente de Piedra is also a magnet for common cranes and gull-billed terns — and, increasingly, for tourists, with the nearby town recently launching an art trail celebrating its famous pink residents.
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