Dr. Felicity Arengo is the associate director of the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. This series of blog posts were submitted during a count of flamingo populations, conducted in remote regions of South America.
January 30, 2015: While my flight this week was one of many delayed by winter weather, I’m packing for summer. I am heading to Argentina to join a group of scientists, conservationists, students, and other volunteers on the 5th international simultaneous flamingo census, coordinated by the Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos (GCFA).
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be counting flamingo populations in remote areas throughout southern South America. There are six flamingo species in the world and half of those are found in in this region. The Chilean Flamingo has a broad distribution throughout the region, while Andean Flamingos and Puna Flamingos are mainly restricted to wetlands in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, though some disperse to lowland wetlands in Argentina in winter. It’s these last two species our counts focus on, as population numbers are cause for concern. Its estimated that just 38,000 Andean Flamingos exist worldwide, making this bird the rarest flamingo species on the planet.
Every five years, our crew of more than 80 trained volunteers split into smaller teams that set out to reach as many wetlands within the flamingo range as we can during a brief 10-day window in summer. My team will leave from Salta, a lovely colonial city in the northwest corner of the country, where temperatures have been close to 90 degrees for the past few days. But within a half-day’s drive we will reach the altiplano, the high plateau which is home to the shallow saline lakes that are ideal flamingo habitat. This is a land of extremes, where temperatures can drop below freezing during summer nights, rocks are sculpted by strong winds, and the sun beats down on one of the driest deserts on Earth. It’s an inhospitable landscape, but the flamingos are supremely adapted and thrive here.
While most of the wetlands are remote and difficult to access, the landscape is not without intense human impacts. The area is rich in metals and minerals, and the global demand for these is expanding. The lakes where flamingos feed are rich in lithium, the element that powers batteries in our laptops, phones, and other mobile gadgets. Demand for the element is expected to skyrocket in the coming years, which could increase pressure on these fragile systems. It’s not only industry that threatens these fragile habitats, as some isolated communities will take flamingo eggs from nests for local consumption, disrupting the breeding cycle.
As we make our count of flamingos in the coming weeks, we’ll monitor population trends and document the conservation status of the wetlands as part of a regional strategy aimed at securing the future of these flamingo populations.
How to Count 18,000 Flamingos
February 3, 2015: Our Land Rover is packed with camping gear, scopes, tripods, GPSs, fuel, food, and water. It’s further packed with the four members of our team. There’s myself and Patricia, my local counterpart and partner on this project for over 15 years; we’ll be in charge of counting flamingos. Ricardo, a world-class professional bird guide and naturalist, will take point on identifying and recording all other waterbirds we encounter. And Amelia, our social psychologist, will be leading workshops with communities close to the flamingo sites.
There are at least 15 similar teams departing from other locations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, heading to their assigned areas to count flamingos. Our section of the map is high in the Argentina’s Catamarca Province, in a part of the Andes mountain range where five of the 10 highest peaks in the continent are found. These towering, snow-capped peaks frame the wetlands where we’ll be working.
And will we ever be working. We’re scheduled to visit around 20 lakes over the next 10 days. Our goal is to do a direct count, which means we try to visit every wetland in the distribution, and count every flamingo. Each wetland has points that give us good panoramic views and minimize the possibility of double-counting birds from the different vantage points.
While we want to be far enough away for a good view, we also need to be close enough to tell the three species of flamingo present—Andean, Chilean, and Puna—apart. While all flamingos have the characteristic qualities of a curved bill, long neck and legs, and pink color, the differences among species are subtle and take some practice to recognize.
Andean Flamingos have yellow legs, bigger bills, and black on their primary feathers that can be see towards the back of the bird when the wings are folded. Puna Flamingos are relatively small, with a smaller bill and red legs. Chilean Flamingos have gray legs with red joints, and no black showing on folded wings. There are differences in the pink hues of the birds’ plumage, but these are too variable for us to depend on as species indicators.
When we arrive at our census point, we set up our spotting scopes and sweep them across the surface of the lake, carefully counting individuals of each species with the same sort of tally counter used by ticket-takers. When finished, counters compare numbers. If the final tallies are within two percent of one another, they’re acceptable and we can move on. If not, we have to begin again to ensure an accurate count. Some wetlands can have as few as four or five birds, but at others they number in the thousands—in one previous count, we saw as many as 18,000 flamingoes at one location. When they are mixed flocks, identifying the different species and counting takes concentration. Those long, careful counts can become tedious, but generally we’re just excited when we see so many birds.
Of Lagunas and Lithium
February 6, 2015: The last few days have been good but tough, and mostly spent bouncing around on dirt roads above 4,000 m (13,000 ft). We visited Salar de Hombre Muerto, a big salt flat where the one of the world’s longest-running and highest-producing lithium mines operates. While lithium is plentiful here, water is in short supply. The “gold” of the altiplano, water is the lifeline of all species, and it’s also required for any industry. So this scarce resource is key to both flamingo populations and local economy.
We usually find a couple hundred flamingos here, representing all three South American species. They’re at home in the extensive vegas, green spongy areas that form when freshwater streams pool near salt flats. These bog-like expanses support tremendous biodiversity, but are very sensitive to changes in hydrology. Mining activity, thirsty for the fresh water, frequently impacts these areas, forming dams that interrupt water flow, essentially killing everything downstream. Unfortunately, that is what we find at the Trapiche River near the Salar. The Trapiche vega looks like it was burned, the result of having been cut off from its water source by a dam.
It’s a sharp contrast to Laguna Purulla, 200 km south but a seven-hour drive away guided by a GPS track indicating “only 4x4.” Laguna Purulla is one of our most remote sites and has been protected within a larger provincial reserve since 2012, mostly because of the work spearheaded by Grupo de Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos-GCFA (High Andes Flamingo Conservation Group): simultaneous censuses, periodical monitoring, and working closely with local authorities, communities, and other stakeholders.
Our long, dusty drive is rewarded with the sight of around 400 Andean Flamingos, 200 Puna Flamingos, and a handful of Chilean Flamingos. Five years ago we found 200 nesting pairs of Andean Flamingos here, the first ever recorded for this site. No such luck this time, though it is not uncommon for long-lived birds like flamingos not to breed every year, or for colonies not to establish. These satellite nesting sites, though they are not used every year, are very important. They act as “insurance policies” under widely changing climatic conditions that can impact regular nesting sites, putting them out of commission suddenly.
We packed our scopes when the wind started to pick up, announcing rain. As it happens, we were just in time. As we hurried along the mountain landscape towards a wide rainbow, some of the most spectacular lightning I’ve ever seen chased us down the sandy track.
Flamingos in a Family Way
February 17, 2015: We are standing at the edge of Laguna Grande, surrounded by snowy peaks and magnificent volcanic rock formations that seem almost cartoonish. From here we can see most of the lake, covered with pink dots. Two hours later we have an estimate for this section, but will have to count at three other points to cover the whole lake.
When we are done we tally our results for the whole lake: over 15,000 Puna Flamingos are present. We also counted 50 Andean Flamingos and a single Chilean Flamingo small numbers in comparison. We’ve counted up to 18,000 Puna flamingos here in past years, but our lower count this year is not necessarily alarming.
Flamingos are itinerant, so they search for ideal areas to feed or nest over a large landscape. Birds that were here in past years may be at another lake this year, which is why our census covers the entire population range during the same time period, giving us a snapshot of the population in time and space. We’ll compile the results from the different teams to estimate the total population and look at how flamingos were distributed this year compared to previous years.
While there were fewer birds overall, we are thrilled to find an active Puna flamingo nesting colony again at Laguna Grande this year. They were first recorded nesting here in 2003, and the High Altitude Flamingo Conservation Group has been monitoring this emerging colony since 2009. Results are mixed: the colony was lost for three years, probably due to flooding during two of those years, while disturbances from tourists and people taking eggs caused the colony to fail another year.
This year we find around 160 chicks, some around a month old: gray and slightly larger than the fluffy, white two-week old chicks, and there are still 100 flamingos sitting on eggs. Timing for different groups of mated pairs is slightly offset, occurring in several waves over the breeding season. We also count around 520 abandoned nests with eggs. Flamingo eggs and chicks are very vulnerable, experiencing high mortality, which is why our work with communities near these sites is as important as collecting data.
Last week, in the nearby town of El Peñón, we organized a festival for International Wetlands Day on February 2, with activities for school children. We also organized a workshop on developing best practices for tourism in these important wetlands with participation from municipal and provincial authorities, tour guides, educators, and other stakeholders.
With our work in this area finished, we come down off the altiplano to a valley, dropping from over 13,000 feet in just four hours. We’ve taken counts at 15 wetlands in the northern section of our circuit. We’ll replenish food and fuel, check email and phone messages, and head up another mountain range to finish counting populations at our last five wetlands in the southern section.
New Heights at the Last Stop
March 4, 2015: We are standing at the edge of Laguna Grande, surrounded by snowy peaks and magnificent volcanic rock formations that seem almost cartoonish. From here we can see most of the lake, covered with pink dots. Two hours later we have an estimate for this section, but will have to count at three other points to cover the whole lake.
When we are done we tally our results for the whole lake: over 15,000 Puna Flamingos are present. We also counted 50 Andean Flamingos and a single Chilean Flamingo small numbers in comparison. We’ve counted up to 18,000 Puna flamingos here in past years, but our lower count this year is not necessarily alarming.
Flamingos are itinerant, so they search for ideal areas to feed or nest over a large landscape. Birds that were here in past years may be at another lake this year, which is why our census covers the entire population range during the same time period, giving us a snapshot of the population in time and space. We’ll compile the results from the different teams to estimate the total population and look at how flamingos were distributed this year compared to previous years.
While there were fewer birds overall, we are thrilled to find an active Puna flamingo nesting colony again at Laguna Grande this year. They were first recorded nesting here in 2003, and the High Altitude Flamingo Conservation Group has been monitoring this emerging colony since 2009. Results are mixed: the colony was lost for three years, probably due to flooding during two of those years, while disturbances from tourists and people taking eggs caused the colony to fail another year.
This year we find around 160 chicks, some around a month old: gray and slightly larger than the fluffy, white two-week old chicks, and there are still 100 flamingos sitting on eggs. Timing for different groups of mated pairs is slightly offset, occurring in several waves over the breeding season. We also count around 520 abandoned nests with eggs. Flamingo eggs and chicks are very vulnerable, experiencing high mortality, which is why our work with communities near these sites is as important as collecting data.
Last week, in the nearby town of El Peñón, we organized a festival for International Wetlands Day on February 2, with activities for school children. We also organized a workshop on developing best practices for tourism in these important wetlands with participation from municipal and provincial authorities, tour guides, educators, and other stakeholders.
With our work in this area finished, we come down off the altiplano to a valley, dropping from over 13,000 feet in just four hours. We’ve taken counts at 15 wetlands in the northern section of our circuit. We’ll replenish food and fuel, check email and phone messages, and head up another mountain range to finish counting populations at our last five wetlands in the southern section.