She's pink‚ she's small and‚ boy‚ she can fly! Flamingo flight stuns scientists

21 June 2016 - 16:56 By Deneesha Pillay

A remarkable 1‚069 kilometre flight by a small female flamingo over the Indian Ocean has been hailed as a breakthrough for flamingo science in Africa.The Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)‚ was tagged with a satellite tracking device at Delareyville in the North West province as part of a project between Eskom and the Endangered Wildlife Trust to monitor the movement of flamingos and find ways of protecting them from collisions with power lines.Earlier this month‚ the bird covered a distance of 1‚069 km in a single 16-hour flight‚ crossing the Indian Ocean from Mozambique to Madagascar.However‚ she didn’t stop there. After crossing the border into Mozambique‚ she proceeded at 7pm on Saturday June 10 to cross the Mozambique coast at Maxixe.She finally reached the western shores of Madagascar near Morombe at noon the following day.The recorded flight movements of the bird‚ known as flamingo no. 27‚ were described as a breakthrough for the project and flamingo science in Africa and could be the first time that a Lesser Flamingo had been tracked flying between mainland Africa and Madagascar.According to the trust‚ over the past 20 years the joint partnership has collected information on avian mortalities related to electrical infrastructure.The Lesser Flamingo has been one of the major species of concern due to collisions with overhead power lines.All of the long range flights undertaken by six tagged flamingos were at night‚ confirming the theory that they are night fliers and susceptible to nocturnal powerline collisions.“One of the methods used to reduce these mortalities is to mark power lines with bird flight diverters‚ or ‘flappers’: devices that can be spotted by birds to prevent collisions‚” said the trust.However‚ according to the organisation‚ a number of flamingo power line mortalities are still being reported‚ even in areas where the lines have been clearly marked.Matt Pretorius‚ a senior field officer at the trust‚ said they “hypothesised that recurring mortalities under marked sections of power lines might be as a result of their nocturnal behaviour‚ as conventional flappers would be rendered invisible to birds flying at night.”“In order to prevent mortalities‚ we may therefore have to mark lines with nocturnal bird flight diverters‚ devices that illuminate the position of overhead power lines in the dark‚” he said.Constant Hoogstad‚ manager of the trust’s Energy Programme‚ added that the initiative would not only help to prevent power line related mortalities in Lesser Flamingos‚ but also provide valuable information on the movements‚ habits and breeding behaviour of the birds.A previous study revealed that Lesser Flamingos undergo long range movements within southern Africa‚ between their non-breeding range and breeding sites in Namibia and Botswana.“A link between the East African Rift Valley lakes and the southern African population has also been suggested based on anecdotal evidence. However their migratory routes are yet to be mapped using satellite telemetry. A recent genetic study also suggested a possible link between Lesser Flamingos in Africa and India‚” the organisation added...

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