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Thousands of fluffy flamingo chicks have just hatched at Torrevieja's salt lakes
The Costa Blanca salt lagoons are home to up to 18,000 flamingos and the newest generation is taking its first wobbly steps
Something rather wonderful is happening right now out at Torrevieja's salt lagoons and if you haven't been to take a look yet, it's well worth making the trip.
Thousands of flamingo chicks have hatched this breeding season at the Parque Natural de las Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja, adding the newest generation to what has become one of the largest flamingo colonies in Spain.
Current estimates put the total number of birds at somewhere between 14,000 and 18,000, with around 7,000 to 9,000 breeding pairs, figures that would have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago.
Flamingos only began breeding successfully in Torrevieja again in 2020, which makes the growth of this colony in such a short space of time a truly remarkable conservation story.
Here's something most people don't know: flamingo chicks are born grey. Those iconic pink feathers don't begin to develop for several months after hatching, and birds don't reach the full deep pink of a mature adult until they're around four years old. Most don't begin breeding until they're five or six.
What's happening at the lagoons right now is a brief and fleeting window, tiny grey fluffy chicks taking their first uncertain steps on the shores of the lagoon, watched over by thousands of brilliantly pink adults. It's not something you see every day, and it won't last long.
Each breeding pair lays a single egg and incubates it for between 26 and 32 days. Once hatched, the chicks are completely dependent on their parents for the first few weeks. The colony nests on an artificial dyke that divides the salt lagoon and despite the fact that vessels and extraction machinery from the working salt flats pass close by throughout the season, the birds have long since made their peace with it and carry on regardless.
The salt works itself actively welcomes the flamingos' presence, recognising them as one of the area's great natural attractions.
If you're planning a visit, the official viewpoints around the natural park are the place to go. Binoculars are a big help, early morning gives the best light and the best chance of seeing the birds at their most active, and it goes without saying that staying well clear of the nesting areas is essential. Biologists and park authorities are unequivocal on that point during the breeding season.
The park itself stretches across Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Los Montesinos and Rojales, and together with the El Hondo reserve and the Salinas de Santa Pola forms a triangle of wetlands that is internationally significant for wildlife.
Images: Proyecto Mastral
