Gediz Delta to turn into ‘flamingo kindergarten’

İZMİR

The Gediz Delta in the western province of İzmir, home to 10 percent of the world’s flamingo population, will be a “kindergarten” for the baby flamingos as the hatching season has started.

“Baby flamingos that are now a part of the flock will start flying around by September,” Dicle Tuba Kılıç, the head of the Nature Association, told daily Milliyet on May 10.

According to the official, flamingos in the delta started courting with each other in January, following which they laid eggs and started incubating in April.

Noting that their eggs have started to hatch after 35 days of the incubation period, he said, “Flamingos in the Gediz Delta are important for the world ecosystem.”

The association has placed cameras all around the delta, where bird enthusiasts can watch baby flamingos, reported the daily.

According to data from the Environment and Urbanization Ministry, there are 600,000 flamingos worldwide, out of which 60,000 are in Turkey.