ScienceSpain begins annual flamingo-ringing initiative

Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Spain’s Fuente de Piedra lake on Saturday for the yearly flamingo-ringing effort. More than 200,000 flamingo chicks have hatched at the site since the lake became a nature reserve in 1984. Environmental authorities and volunteers use the annual tagging programme to follow the birds’ movements between protected areas in Europe and North Africa. This year, 600 chicks were fitted with rings.