When people think of safari they tend to think of the Big Five and exciting large animals such as elephants, hippos, rhinos and giraffes. The predators such as lions, leopard and cheetah are all rightly highly sought after and giant herds of grazing antelope or zebra also make for a stunning sight. Unless you are a keen twitcher then quite often birds do not really get paid much attention – that is until you actually go on safari. And then you realise that Africa is teeming with incredible birdlife and that they too can be spectacular and as unmissable as a lion kill.
Lake Nakuru – One of the great bird spectaculars in Africa is the flamingo colonies at Lake Nakuru in Kenya. Lake Nakuru is a protected national reserve and flamingos are the reason why. At certain times of the year the enormous lake is a sea of pink as far as the eye can see – truly one of nature’s most unusual spectacles. Lake Nakuru is part of many safari itineraries as it works well fitting in between Lake Naivasha en route to the world famous Masai Mara National Park. Lake Nakuru has a great deal to offer besides its magnificent birdlife however; it is an excellent spot for seeing rhino and, if you are lucky, the elusive leopard. The very large Lake Nakuru sits on the bed of the Great Rift Valley and is part of the region in East Africa known as the Great Lakes Region stretching between Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.
Flamingos – Nakuru is famous for its warm, shallow alkaline waters that are abundant with microscopic life including algae and shrimp. In fact it is the colour of the algae and shrimp that gives the flamingo its famous pink feathers – normally they are white. The flamingo is a wader with typically long legs for wading through the water as it feeds. It feeds by scooping up the water in its specially adapted beak and filtering out the algae or shrimp. Scientists have long wondered why they stand on one leg but have now discovered it is a means of heat conservation to prevent the cold water lowering the body temperature too far. There are two species of flamingo that live in South America and the Caribbean. There are two other species of flamingo that live in Southern Europe, Arabia and of course Africa. It is the Lesser Flamingo that can be found at Lake Nakuru. Flamingos are very sociable birds living in colonies of thousands at a time. This is thought to be a method of avoiding predators, to conserve nesting sites and also to maximise their feeding grounds by taking over. They produce one egg on a flat muddy nest that then hatches and is fed milk by both parents. Flamingos are such interesting birds and early species of flamingo have been found in fossil form from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods meaning they are as old as dinosaurs!
