Over 250 Lesser Flamingos have been ringed in an on-going project 
being conducted at Lake Bogoria in Kenya by Dr. Brooks Childress, 
Research Associate, Department of Ornithology, National Museums of 
Kenya and Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Biology, University 
of Leicester (UK).  The programme is part of the "Lakes of the Rift 
Valley" research programme run by Dr. David Harper, Senior Lecturer, 
Department of Biology, University of Leicester (UK), and is supported 
by the Earthwatch Institute and The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (UK).  
Each bird ringed has a Ringing Scheme of Eastern Africa metal ring 
placed on its right tibia and an orange plastic ring with black 
letter combinations placed on its left tibia.  In addition to 
ringing, satellite transmitters have also been put on seven 
individuals.

The purpose of the programme is to learn more about the longevity and 
movements of Lesser Flamingos in East Africa, so the sites that are 
most important to the survival of this near-threatened species can be 
preserved and protected.  In addition, we're looking for evidence of 
a connection between the East African and the southern African 
populations of Lesser Flamingos – something that has been 
hypothesised by some ornithologists but not shown definitively.  In 
the meantime, a large database of Lesser Flamingo biometrics is being 
assembled that will help in understanding their growth patterns and 
in determining gender in the field without more intrusive methods.

The importance of ringing in determining longevity is illustrated by 
the recovery of eleven rings from the nestling ringing efforts of 
Leslie Brown in the early 1960s at Lake Magadi in Kenya.  According 
to the recovery records held by the British Trust for Ornithology, 
the average age of the birds from the first seven rings recovered was 
25 years, with a range of 22.6 to 26.7 years, while the average age 
of the last four rings discovered was 37 years, ranging from 34.9 to 
38.7 years.

Although it would seem a difficult task to spot one of the orange 
East African rings amongst the sea of pink legs in a flock of Lesser 
Flamingos, Dr. Childress is asking everyone who visits an area 
holding Lesser Flamingos to keep a watchful eye out for them.  Eleven 
different birds have been re-sighted at Lake Bogoria, several months 
after they were ringed.  Based on their satellite tracking results, 
they know that birds from Lake Bogoria have visited all of the 
alkaline lakes in Kenya and Tanzania, several times in some cases, so 
there's a possibility that the rings will be seen almost anywhere in 
eastern and southern Africa.