Hi flamingo folks,
We carried out two Greater Flamingo banding operations in Algeria in 2009. In June, we opened the banding season with 8 chicks ringed (out of a total of 23) at the small colony of El Goléa, in the Algerian Sahara. We also closed the flamingo banding season at Ezzemoul, in the Hauts Plateaux on 31 July. The Greater Flamingo bred successfully this year at Ezzemoul with an estimated 10 000 pairs and a nursery of well over 6000 chicks.
Two hours before dawn, we began to position ourselves at strategic places and with a rising sun around 1000 chicks were herded in the corral, the rest were allowed to escape. 638 chicks were banded with DNA samples and parasites collected along standard measurements by 120 volunteers divided into 6 teams made up mostly from the University of Guelma and locals. Despite the difficult terrain, the operation went swiftly lasting, overall, less than four hours. We noted 8 casualties among chicks and just fatigue plus relief among humans.
Our work is carried out under a CNEPRU research project from the Algerian MESRS. We are most grateful to Luc Hoffmann and the MAVA foundation for financial support. Collaboration with the Tour du Valat is acknowledged.

Here is the link to the photos of the Greater Flamingo banding operation at ezzemoul, Algeria 2009:
Photo Gallery


Boudjéma

Pr. B. Samraoui
Laboratoire de Recherche et de Conservation des Zones Humides
Biology Department
University of Guelma
Guelma, Algeria
Tel: 00 213 (0)7 74 52 59 26