Flamingos here to stay

THE 50 flamingos living year-round in Calpe were central to its World Wetlands Day events.

Mild winter temperatures make the Calpe Salinas an ideal permanent habitat and for several years now the flamingos no longer take off for warmer climates as winter approaches.  

Although they come and go the birds, who are all ringed, forgo migration to the French Camargue and onwards to Garaa Ezzemoul in Algeria.

To celebrate the recent World Wetlands Day, Calpe Town Hall set up an information point and observation post at the Salinas where the public could watch the birds at close quarters.

Each year this day marks the date of the Wetlands Convention that was signed in February 1971 on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Ramsar (Iran).

The theme for 2017 was the vital role that wetlands play in preventing environmental disasters, acting as natural buffers when they are located on the coast.  

Inland they function like sponges, absorbing and storing excess rainfall and reducing the risk of flooding.

When well-managed they help communities, particularly those in developing countries, to prepare for and cope with natural disasters, the Ramsar Organisation explained.