First Caribbean Flamingo Eggs in 5 years
Staff were thrilled to announce a flamingo egg was laid on 15th June, and another on the 2nd July with others in the flock looking very interested at doing the same!
Sadly the first egg was not fertile when the shell broke after 28 days incubation. Penelope, the female, had been seen standing up on her nest and examining the cracked egg. But there are still hope for the second egg due to hatch beginning of August wil the possibility of more eggs still to be laid.
UPDATE: Sadly both eggs this year turned out to not be fertile. But it is great they laid eggs, and this gives us hope that 2025 could be a good year for our flamingo flock.
Keeper Becky Waite explains “We have only had one egg hatch previously, which was back in 2019, and that was the now famous ‘Derek’ who was hand-reared as the parents stopped incubating it a few days before it was due to hatch. So, we stepped in, put the egg in an incubator and the rest is history! The name Derek was my initial nickname for ‘him’, but at about 8 days old, I sent a bit of the eggshell for DNA analysis and found out that Derek was in fact a girl! The name had already stuck with everyone, so we decide to keep it.
The first egg was laid on 15th June by Colin and Penelope, names inspired by the elegance and intrigue of ‘Bridgerton’ and characters Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. Sadly this is the one that was not fertile.
The second egg was laid on 2nd July by Edwina (Sharma) and Anthony (Bridgerton) and is expected to hatch at the beginning of August. This pair are actually Derek’s parents!
It’s great to see that others in the flock also seem very interested in nesting, so you never know, more eggs could be laid soon. Here’s hoping!”
Paradise Park has nine Caribbean flamingos and they are one of the highlights of a visit and can been seen in their open enclosure within the Walled Garden.
FLAMINGO LIVE WEBCAM – You can also watch the flock, including the two flamingos sitting on the muddy mound nests with the eggs, on the LIVE webcam HERE