Our large flock of almost 40 Chilean flamingos are a beautiful sight to be seen on our Lakelands and have been seen nest building!

We are hoping that the group will successfully breed this year as the flamingos have just started building nests and keepers have put down a fake egg to encourage them to lay some real ones! The flamingos have mirrors on the lake which are used to help encourage the birds to breed, as flamingos tend not to build nests and lay eggs if they are in groups of less than 30 to 40 birds. This technique has worked to the stage of nest building but unfortunately no eggs have been laid as of yet but we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Colchester Zoo has housed Chilean Flamingos since 1983 with 3 of the flamingos almost 30 years of age. Most colonies of Chilean Flamingos are stable but are vulnerable due to habitat destruction and disturbance. They are native to Southern Europe, South West Asia, West Indies and parts of Africa and South America living in shallow salty lagoons.