Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber
You can always wait for a better picture but at some point you have to post to keep the Task going. When I get the new camera I will do some head shots and try and do these elegant birds justice. The constant companions of mediterranean holidays I was pleased to find a large overwintering population at Rhas Al Khor ("the head of the creek") when I came to Dubai. Populations breed around estuaries further up the coast in Abu Dhabi. A large proportion of the birds that overwinter in the UAE fly North to the Caspian sea each year to breed.
The wetland at Rhas Al Khor is a globally important wetland for birds on migration and overwintering and has been declared a RAMSI site (a world protected wetland). It holds a decent tract of mature mangrove and it is always worth a stop-off if you are passing to see what's about at any time of year. At the moment the elegant pink flamingos dot the whole thing with the towering relief of the Dubai skyline and the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, in the background. Its a favourite picture in Dubai but people would do well to remember that one false move with the local developments and the site could be degraded. Dubai without flamingos would be a very sad place. At one point they were going to build an opera house and a luxury villas - of course the flamingos would stay being opera lovers themselves.
If there is one thing that's slightly more ridiculous than a wading flamingo it has to be a flamingo in flight. I will update this page through time with some better pictures.
Greater Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber
Rhas Al Khor, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
12 March 2012
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