Flamingos surprisingly settle in Ayvalık

BALIKESİR - Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Flamingos, which generally take shelter in Lake Tuz and İzmir’s Çamaltı salt marsh in Turkey, have been coming to the popular Turkish tourism resort town of Ayvalık in the western province of Muğla since the beginning of spring.

Hundreds of flamingos were recently seen in Küçükköy neighborhood’s Sarımsaklı area and drew great interest from tourists and locals. The birds often come to the region to find food and generally stay near a facility which produces salt.

Ayvalık Food Agriculture and Livestock Director Yusuf Aygün said flamingos generally prefer alkali or salty lakes as living spaces. He said the district was home to a small lake, where salt is produced. “This is why they have preferred to come to this area in recent years,” he said.

He said the flamingos were eating moss, crab, shrimp and other creatures with or without shells. Ayvalık is rich in terms of these foods, he said.

 “Most probably their number will increase in this region from now on. Since the region has a temperate climate, they will come here to reproduce. This is an advantage for tourism here. They draw bird observers to Ayvalık,” Aygün said.