Marwell Wildlife Flamingo causes flap in Suffolk

Ah yeah, known about this since the curator told us at the last member's talk in February but didn't want to talk about it here because of confidentiality etc; he led the keepers on a wild goose chase from Owslebury, the village adjacent to the zoo, then to the fishing lake at Sparsholt College a few weeks later, and then right along the East Coast to Dungeness and by this point I think most hope of getting it back by this point had been given up! :D
 
Goodness it has been around then!! Was it this February it escaped? (or last year as stated in our unreliable paper lol) Surely it wouldn't have wintered in the UK if last year and survived?
 
karenZOO said:
Goodness it has been around then!! Was it this February it escaped? (or last year as stated in our unreliable paper lol) Surely it wouldn't have wintered in the UK if last year and survived?
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Flamingos are very tough birds and I think low winter temperatures in the UK doesn´t cause them any problems, as long as they have access to open water. Wild flamingos are excellent long-distance travelers and they travel normally during night at high altitudes where the air is quite cold, so that even tropical species as Caribbeans are quite hardy.

For example - escaped Caribbean and Chilean flamingos live in perfect body condition for more then 15 years in Austria where winters are much longer and colder then in the UK.
Link
 
karenZOO said:
Goodness it has been around then!! Was it this February it escaped? (or last year as stated in our unreliable paper lol) Surely it wouldn't have wintered in the UK if last year and survived?
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Over the years various single (escaped?) Flamingoes have lived on the Fleet in Dorset- the big lagoon that is also home to Abbotsbury Swannery. At times there has been more than one there.
 
karenZOO said:
Goodness it has been around then!! Was it this February it escaped? (or last year as stated in our unreliable paper lol) Surely it wouldn't have wintered in the UK if last year and survived?
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It escaped in December 2010.
 
Marwell Wildlife Flamingo causes flap in Suffolk

Would it be a rude question to ask why Marwell and/or RSPB have not attempted to re-capture the Flamingo?

With the fuss that the RSPB are making - using it's presence on various RSPB reserves as advertising - are they not breaking the Wildlife and Countryside Act in some way?

Many years ago - pre Wildlife and Countryside Act - there used to be a small flock of assorted Flamingos (all escapees) that used to travel from North Kent Marshes, round Thanet to Hastings area - they survived for many years.

It is also worth remembering that - under the right circumstances - Flamingos are a long-lived species! One friend in Netherlands still has the first Lesser that he purchased - now 32 years old!
 
Would it be a rude question to ask why Marwell and/or RSPB have not attempted to re-capture the Flamingo?Not a rude question, but can assure you that the the bird's movements are being fully monitored and there have been a number of re-capture attempts. However flamingoes are wiley birds and a fully winged bird is not easy to capture in open water.
 
An update:

The escaped female Greater flamingo with blue ring M30 has been spotted in Zwillbrocker Venn on 10. March, among +25 displaying flamingos! She left UK in 2012 and has been living on Dutch coast since. This is the first time she has been observed on the traditional breeding island close behind German border. Maybe she would try breeding this spring?
Source
 
Jana said:
An update:

The escaped female Greater flamingo with blue ring M30 has been spotted in Zwillbrocker Venn on 10. March, among +25 displaying flamingos! She left UK in 2012 and has been living on Dutch coast since. This is the first time she has been observed on the traditional breeding island close behind German border. Maybe she would try breeding this spring?
Source
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This is very interesting news, and it is very nice to think she has found others and possibly joined that flock.
While she remained in the UK Marwell and others spent a great deal of time trying to catch and track her, but catching a loose flamingo is extremely difficult, even one like this one which was wing-clipped but still managed to get lift very easily indeed, they are light birds which require little run-up to take off. It flew incredibly quickly and strongly, getting to an incredible height as I remember at the time.
 
Marwelll....

Sounds like a happy ending; very clever/lucky to find the nearest breeding fee-living colony.
 
Jana said:
An update:

The escaped female Greater flamingo with blue ring M30 has been spotted in Zwillbrocker Venn on 10. March, among +25 displaying flamingos! She left UK in 2012 and has been living on Dutch coast since. This is the first time she has been observed on the traditional breeding island close behind German border. Maybe she would try breeding this spring?
Source
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Is this a genuine wild colony or formed of feral/escapees originally?
 
Marwell Wildlife Flamingo......

Mixed feral colony (and please don't bring up the whole 'feral only applies to domestics' thing anybody) with Greater,
Chilean and Caribbean. I suppose the odd genuine wild Greater could be involved. I believe there have been a few Lessers, which have never really got established. The others breed. This is one case where I think we all forget the issues around exotic/potentially invasive species, and just enjoy the view. I mean, these are Flamingos!
 
FBBird said:
This is one case where I think we all forget the issues around exotic/potentially invasive species, and just enjoy the view. I mean, these are Flamingos!
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Indeed. I always rather hoped the ones on the Fleet would establish but it didn't happen.
 
Marwell Wildlife Flamingo......

Pertinax -- when I came to Dorset in 1974 there were three flamingos established on the Fleet, loosely associating with the swans but keeping together as a trio.
By the late 80s there were only two, Chilean and Caribbean. I saw the Chilean at a local taxidermist's, where it ended after being flattened by a nesting swan. The remaining Caribbean, known at the Swannery as 'Dilly', divided his time between the Fleet ( there are many photos of him among the swans) and Poole Park, where he went for a few weeks each summer. No idea of his fate or how long he lasted. A Chilean (I think) turned up there a few years ago, very tame and pushy with people, eventually sent to Slimbridge.
 
FBBird said:
Pertinax -- when I came to Dorset in 1974 there were three flamingos established on the Fleet, loosely associating with the swans but keeping together as a trio.
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I remember seeing three Flamingoes there too around that time. If the single one flew to Poole Park it was obviously attracted to other waterfowl(the geese?) also. 'Poole Park' takes me back, in the 1960's era they had quite a good waterfowl collection in the fenced off area, and there was the little railway around the main lake.:)

While I have your attention- different subject/quick question- any recent sign of the Swoose at Wool or is it almost certainly dead?
 
Marwell Wildlife Flamingo....

I always wondered if he went there to moult.
I've never seen the Swoose, although I have looked for it carefully in recent months. Suspect it came to grief. We have a lot of foxes in Dorset. And otters, though I've never seen one.
 
FBBird said:
I've never seen the Swoose, although I have looked for it carefully in recent months. Suspect it came to grief. We have a lot of foxes in Dorset. And otters, though I've never seen one.
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Quite possibly, though its a long way to go just for a change of scenery. Maybe it felt safer there.


I saw the Swoose the first time I went to look for it- it was out on the fields grazing with its Swan partner. Never saw it again though. Could be quite a match for a fox, it was pretty big, nearer swan size than goose. It mostly used the small stretch of river between the newer and older river bridges at Wool apparently. One time I came across the old remains of a big bird by the main road bridge but I could not identify- I don't think it was the Swoose though.
 
Marwell Wildife Flamingo....

What year was this? That's one of the areas I covered. Foxes round here routinely kill swans, and I've known them kill half grown Rheas.
 
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