14,757 Pink Flamingo Nests Found in Yucatán Reserve

Yucatán, Mexico — The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), through the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, has documented 14,757 nests of the pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) in the narrows of the protected area. As of the latest count, 40% of the eggs have hatched, with the remaining expected to hatch in the coming days.

Aerial Monitoring Reveals Nesting Expansion

Using drone-captured aerial photographs in early May, reserve personnel obtained images of flamingos incubating their eggs, revealing an expansion in the nesting zone. Notably, researchers observed a flamingo marked with the code US02, indicating it had been banded and fitted with a transmitter in Florida, USA. Additionally, the Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve reported 162 nesting flamingos within its protected area.

Conservation Efforts Span Decades

Since 1999, CONANP has collaborated with local communities, academia, private sectors, and civil organizations under the American Flamingo or Caribbean Pink Flamingo Conservation Program. In coordination with the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area and the Ría Celestún and Los Petenes Biosphere Reserves, the program has tracked juvenile flamingos through banding and movement monitoring.

From 1999 to 2024, the initiative has recorded the birth of 154,446 chicks, with 7,142 banded. In 2024 alone, 297 chicks were banded and underwent health assessments for Influenza A and Newcastle disease by the General Directorate of Animal Health. All samples tested negative, confirming the flamingos' healthy condition.

Ongoing Monitoring and Public Awareness

Reserve staff will continue monitoring hatchlings to estimate this year’s population growth while enforcing habitat protection measures to prevent human disturbance. CONANP urges visitors to avoid nesting sites and keep pets like dogs and cats away to minimize disruptions.

These efforts underscore CONANP’s commitment to safeguarding one of the Mexican Caribbean’s most iconic species.