Flamingo colony lands on Istanbul lake

ISTANBUL-Demirören News Agency

A colony of flamingos has landed on Büyükçekmece Lake for the first time, creating a beautiful scene but also providing another indicator of global warming.

Fikret Can, a local observing the lake on the European side of the metropolis for some 40 years, said that he had first spotted three flamingos there in 2013.

“This year, we have seen 51 of them. They fly between Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece lakes and feed here. For sure, you don’t have to look at the equatorial or the polar areas for signs of climate change. The reason of flamingos coming here is the climate change. They find here warmer. They can find food, and they stay longer,” he said.

Flamingos migrate according to the seasons to find food and nest. They choose salty areas and wetlands.

Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü), some 600 kilometers southeast of Istanbul in Central Anatolia, is home to the largest flamingo chick population in West Africa and the Mediterranean. Some years over 20,000 flamingo chicks hatch from their eggs in Salt Lake.