Staff at Slimbridge Wetland Centre are celebrating after a rare flock of flamingos laid eggs for the first time in 15 years.

The Andean flamingos at WWT Slimbridge have become foster parents to the recently hatched Chilean Flamingo chicks after the recent heatwave triggered them to lay their first eggs since 2003. 

The recent record-breaking temperatures sparked six of the exotic birds to lay nine eggs, but as they were all infertile, the expectant mums and dads were left without chicks to rear.

To fulfil their needs as expectant parents, experts at the Gloucestershire reserve decided to give the Andean flamingos the Chilean flamingo eggs to hatch and look after as their own. Aviculture Manager at Slimbridge Mark Roberts said: “It’s a wonderful and welcome surprise that the Andeans have started laying again after nearly two decades. We’ve been encouraging the flock by helping them to build nests but there’s no doubt that the recent heat has had the desired effect. Unfortunately none of the eggs were viable so with the Andeans in full parenting mode we gave them the Chilean chicks to bring up as their own. It’s great motivation and enriching for the birds.

“Just a handful of Chilean eggs were passed on to encourage the other birds to lay more eggs, in the hope one might be fertile. The flock last successfully bred in 1999 and interestingly, one of the chicks that hatched back then is currently nesting. Flamingos are fickle breeders and can go years without nesting successfully.

“Chilean flamingos are relatively similar to the Andean. They live side-by-side in the wild but survive on different diets. The Andean flamingos are some of the oldest animals at WWT Slimbridge. With some of the birds arriving in the 1960s as adults, they’ve been at the reserve longer than any of the staff. They are long-lived birds that are capable of breeding well into old age. Slimbridge is the only place in the world where you can encounter all six species of flamingos.”