Namibias Walvis Bay is perhaps most known for its marine life. But just a bit inland there is an explosion of life in between the huge sand dunes! Huge reeds swaying the in wind tell of excellent conditions for life, and the large amounts of Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) are found here, but also Greater […]
There are two species of flamingo in Namibia, the other species is the greater flamingo which has a dark tip on a pink beak. I found large groups of flamingos wading in the brackish waters not far inland from Walvis Bay. It is separated from the coast with kilometers of desert, which makes it appear […]
A lonely greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) feeding in one of the salt pans in Walvis Bay.
A single, juvenile, greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) resting in a flock of lesser flamingos in Walvis Bay, Namibia. It was cloudy this day, as so many days by the coast. Some days the sun breaks through just before the sunset, other days not at all. This makes it much cooler than just a few kilometers […]
A mixed flock of greater and lesser flamingos, with the greater flamingos in the front, with a dark tip on a pink beak. Walvis bay is a flamingo haven, and you will see them in large numbers in the bay and the salt works where this is shot.
When their food, algae, is getting scarce on the shallows, they venture out as deep as needed to get to where the algae is. Here they seem to be floating as they filter feed on the algae. Altitude: 4119 metres. It sounds like this:
Even at these muddy sections of the lagoon, the flamingos find food that seemingly outweighs the energy spent ovecoming the suction of the mud. A few flaps of the wings and they easily move forward. Any human would have struggled very hard, but the beautiful flamingos are much more hardy than you could possibly imagine! […]
From afar the flamingos all seem to be the same species. This species is identified by the red legs, that the black tip on the bill is much smaller than the other 2 species found here as well as the carmine-red streaks on the back and lower chest. The environment in which these flamingos thrive […]