Two flamingos released back into the wild

Two Greater Flamingos were released back into the wild earlier this week by BirdLife at the NGO’s Għadira Nature Reserve following a short period of care.

BirdLife said that both juvenile flamingos were part of the large flock which was observed migrating over Malta on 20 and 21 August 2019.

The NGO said Flamingos migrate in flocks of adult and juveniles, but the young tend to become exhausted and divert from the rest of the flock in order to rest. This was the case with the two flamingos, which ended up stranded in different areas across the island. 

"The first one was in fact found at Daħlet Qorrot Bay in Gozo where it landed in the middle of the beach on 20 August. It was rescued by an ERA officer and immediately taken to the government vet who found it to be weak from migration,” Birdlife said. 

The second flamingo was recovered by members of the hunting organisation Kaccaturi San Ubertu at l-Ghadira s-Safra the following day. The group then handed over the flamingo to BirdLife and it was taken to the government vet for an examination. Even in this case, BirdLife said the Greater Flamingo was only weak from migration and "in a bit more than a week it was certified as having gained enough strength to be released back into the wild”. 

Following the green light by the veterinarian, both flamingos were eventually released at Għadira on 3 September. They were both ringed prior to being released by members of staff at the reserve.