The Ringing Scheme of East Africa has just
received news of a Lesser Flamingo that was
found freshly dead at Lake Baringo on 13th
February this year with a ring. The incredible
thing about it is that the ring was a BTO ring
(British Trust for Ornithology) that was one
of those rings used on a batch of several
thousand Lesser Flamingo chicks that bred at
at Lake Magadi in....1962!!
This bird was in fact ringed by none other
than the very well-known Leslie Brown on 1st
November 1962 making it 50
years, 3 months and 25 days
old!
It must surely be the oldest recorded Lesser
Flamingo and quite stunning that it lived for
so long. A few years ago there was one
recovered also at Magadi that was about 45
years old - there may be one or two more out
there with rings from that time!
If anyone receives this who knows more about
that ringing event of Lesser Flamingo chicks
in 1962 - or was perhaps even there and took
part, it would be really interesting to know
the full story. I believe many of the chicks
had got 'anklets' of encrusted soda formed
around their legs which were acting as a 'ball
and chain' and were killing the birds.
Rescuers were breaking the balls of encrusted
soda off and putting rings on thus saving the
lives of many flamingos - some to live to over
50 years later!
The person who found the flamingo is Nick
Armour of Swavesey, England, to whom we are
indebted for reporting the ring. The distance
from ringing site to recovery site is 242kms.
We need to spread the word of what ringing is
about so that members of the public who find
ringed birds know what to do with them - i.e.
report them to the ringing scheme / museum. If
anyone reading this has opportunity for
publishing stories or reports in newspapers /
magazines / report on radio etc, please do so.
There must be dozens of rings found by the
public that are never reported due simply to
ignorance of what they are.
--
-------------------------
Colin Jackson
A Rocha Kenya
Christians in Conservation
Cell: +254 (0)722-842366
Land: +254 (0)20 260 0731
www.arocha.org
www.assets-kenya.org
Blog: www.arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org