Despite the war, 570 greater flamingos spent six months, from spring to autumn 2023, living at the Tuzlivski Lymany in Odesa Oblast and raised 192 chicks. Before this year they had only passed through these places on migration. Why did this happen, and why now? And why is it a genuine miracle?
Ivan Rusev, Doctor of Biological Sciences and head of the research department at Tuzlivski Lymany National Nature Park, told the story on his Facebook page.
Even birds do not want to live under occupation
“Earlier, in 2017, flamingos attempted to establish a colony in Ukraine for the first time, at Lake Churiuk in Kherson Oblast near Crimea, but raised only three chicks, whose fate is unknown,” Rusev said. “During the full-scale invasion by the Rashists and the occupation of Kherson Oblast, the birds left the temporarily occupied territories and chose the Tuzlivski Lymany.
The first large flock of flamingo ‘scouts’ appeared here in 2021. That year, large numbers of chicks and adult birds died at the main flamingo colonies on Lake Tuz in Turkey. We predicted then that they would soon nest here. And then came the wartime year of 2023. The flamingos appeared in our national park in April and in May immediately chose a nesting site on the shore of the Burnas Lagoon near the village of Bazarianka. But nesting there was unsuccessful: children kept appearing, poachers came at night and there were many domestic dogs. Despite having built 270 nests, the birds were forced to abandon this dangerous site. But we believed they would find somewhere else in the national park and raise chicks this year.
And that is exactly what happened. In late June 2023 they nested in a remarkable part of the national park, at the meeting point of the large Tuzlivski lagoons Shagany and Alibey. It was there that our ‘Tuzlivski’ flamingos raised 192 chicks during the war!”
Operation ‘Ring’
Ukrainian scientists — ornithologists and biologists — decided to make the most of this extraordinary event and successfully ringed some of the chicks. From the entire brood of birds that were not yet fully feathered but were already fast on their feet, they caught and ringed 18 young flamingos. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources reported on Operation ‘Ring’: 18 young flamingos, not yet fully feathered but already fast on their feet, were caught and ringed. They received Ukrainian ‘passports’ in the form of yellow rings bearing the codes UA01-UA18. This unique procedure was carried out in Ukraine for the first time. The Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds and the Ukrainian Bird Ringing Centre assisted the national park’s staff.
Vladyslav Balinskyi, head of the Zelenyi Lyst civic organisation, gave a vivid account of the ringing of the young flamingos on Facebook:
“The timing of the ringing was no accident: the first broods had already started to take wing. The scientists wanted to ring as many chicks as possible. Local poachers almost ruined all our plans. Gunfire frightened the colony, and the adult birds led the chicks three kilometres away from the nesting site, to the opposite shore and the sand spit on the seaward side. We therefore had to change our strategy for catching the chicks at literally the last minute.
Because greater flamingos were being ringed in Ukraine for the first time, developing a method for catching the chicks was of exceptional interest to us. In Spain, for example, the salt lake is much shallower, and as many as 400 people take part in driving the chicks on foot! At Alibey the water is neck-deep in places; recruiting that many people would be unrealistic, and the birds had to be driven over a very long distance. So the national park staff drove the chicks using kayaks. This method may have been used for the first time. They drove the chicks into an ordinary shore-based trap made from agricultural fabric stretched between stakes, with two guiding wings of netting likewise stretched between stakes.
All the chicks, regardless of age, stay together in a single group — a kind of nursery. In the end, we found that the plan to catch them was entirely feasible, although nobody expected the youngsters to swim and run so fast! What is more, when danger approaches, the chicks stop moving as one group and scatter in every direction. Nevertheless, ringing nine per cent of the young birds was a respectable result, given that this was our first experience and the conditions were difficult.
Once caught, the chicks were carefully weighed, several measurements were taken, samples for parasites were collected, the birds were ringed and photographed, and then lovingly released. It turned out that these fluffy youngsters were sturdy, with an average weight of 2.4 kg. They were disarmingly gentle, provided you held their rather powerful legs. Perhaps the most touching moment was seeing how quickly their mood changed when they spotted the path to FREEDOM: heads held high, wings still without flight feathers but proudly spread and flapping. Encouraging one another, they ran swiftly towards their home colony. It brought tears to our eyes. Now the lucky ones will have something to show their companions. Ukrainian rings clearly suit the greater flamingos. Come back — we will be waiting eagerly for you!”
Prospects for finding a mate
This extraordinarily beautiful, graceful bird, which can live up to 50 years, has increasingly been looking to Ukraine as a home in which to raise its young. Ornithologists traced the migration of one such beauty spotted at the Tuzlivski Lymany by her leg ring and discovered some interesting facts. She was ringed in Spain 22 years ago and has since periodically changed her nesting grounds, flying between Spain, France and Turkey. Now this lady has taken a liking to Ukrainian Bessarabia — she evidently sees prospects here.
And Tuzlivski Lymany National Nature Park welcomes visitors who can admire these beautiful, graceful birds.