Regular Flamingo Colony Deserting Malaga’s Fuente De Piedra Wetlands Due To The Drought

Thousands of flamingos normally hatch their chicks annually in a popular saltwater lagoon in southern Spain.

This year however, due to the ongoing drought conditions affecting large parts of the country the exotic birds have been forced to seek an alternative location as the water levels diminish.

In 1984, the Fuente de Piedra lagoon and its surrounding wetlands in Malaga province were declared a natural reserve.

Tourists regularly flock to the region to observe these beautiful birds in the wild but those who made the trip recently have been disappointed to see barely a few dozen of them in attendance.

According to official data, this spring in Spain has been the hottest one since 1961, with 28 per cent less rain falling than normal. On top of that, the weather experts are predicting a very hot summer.

According to Andalucia’s Agriculture office, in excess of 200,000 flamingo chicks have hatched at the lagoon

The BBC quoted one local resident who blamed the lack of birds on global warming, saying: ‘It is a shame because of the tourism, people come here for the day’.

Fuente de Piedra lagoon is the largest in all of Andalucia, covering approximately 1,400 hectares of land. Its previous flamingo population was recognised as the largest colony to be found anywhere on the Iberian peninsula, according to the Junta de Andalucia.

It is one of a group of lagoons in the Antequera area of Malaga province, which includes other nature reserves that between them cover approximately 3,000 hectares. Other regular visitors during the migratory periods are various birds of prey and the sandpiper.

The wetlands were regarded as second in importance in Europe after the Camargue region of France. This region has been famous for its pink flamingoes since 1969. More than 10,000 adult birds annually visited the ‘Etang du Fangassier’ to breed and lay their eggs, the only such place in France where this activity occurs.