Some chicks have been produced this year, but I do not know if they are pure or hybrids. There had been no breeding for many years until three or four years ago when lots of chicks were bred - Caribbeans, Chileans and hybrids. It was decided to sort out the group and the few male Greaters were packed off to East Anglia I think (Banham rings a bell - does it have Greaters?). The hybrids, or at least several of them, went to Lotherton. I think Lotherton rehomed its Caribbeans; as far as I remember only two were left after several had been killed by Dogs. Unfortunately a Fox then got in with the new Flamingos at Lotherton, so its numbers were reduced again. Two years ago the two species were separated by a dividing fence through the area pictured, but they have been one large group again in 2011 and 2012. I took some photos of chicks on 1st November and I have not yet finished posting photos taken with my SLR from that visit, so some may appear. Unless I have already posted some and forgotten about it!
WHOOPS! MY MEMORY FAILED A BIT RE THE ABOVE - PLEASE SEE MY NEXT POST.
You're probably thinking of Africa Alive! maybe? I know that AA! has recently (at least within the last couple of months) received a few Greaters... Banham has Chileans anyway.
EDIT: Just remembered; AA!'s new flamingos came from Switzerland.
Ah, thank-you. I am sure they were supposed to be going somewhere in East Anglia, I shall have to check my notes to see if I recorded anything.
Just been checking my notes, not found anything about the move yet but I have seen I noted a fence between the Chileans and the Caribbeans in 2009! Time flies. Here we are, my notes from 15th August 2008. What was going to happen was that the hybrids were going to other collections including Lotherton (that happened!), F L was to get Lotherton's Caribbeans in return. Some hybrids were going to go to Africa Alive with pure Chileans coming from Banham in return - that was the East Anglian connection then. Now the Greaters. I have written "3 Greaters all male, wants to build up Greaters". Mmm, I must have been referring to my informant and so that indicated the Greaters would stay. I am sure they did not. I have then put there were 91 birds in total and the flock would be split up after the departures so that would be a group of c 30 Chileans and another of c 30 Caribbeans. No mention of the Greaters. Obviously my memory had played a trick on me in the above post (I should have checked my notes then), but what happened to the Greaters?! At that stage the plan was to net over the Flamingo Lake and install Scarlet Ibises etc, but that did not happen
I visited the park again yesterday and asked about the Greaters. They went to a bird garden, so I am wondering if they went to Lotherton as well as some of the hybrids.
I visited the park again yesterday and asked about the Greaters. They went to a bird garden, so I am wondering if they went to Lotherton as well as some of the hybrids.
