WHERE TO WATCH FLAMINGOS IN TANZANIA..LAKE MOMELA, LAKE MANYARA, LAKE NATRON OR NGORONGORO CRATER?

LAKE MAGADI-NGORONGORO CRATER-The lake supports thousands of flamingos and other birds. Here are greater and lesser flamingo mingling, along with some other birds. The greater flamingo is larger and has a pink bill with a black tip. A filter feeder, it preys on invertebrates which it sifts from the bottom mud using its bent bill.

LAKE NATRON,NGORONGORO-it is an important habitat for flamingos and is home to endemic algae, invertebrates and round the margins even fish that can survive in the slightly less salty water.The lake is the only regular breeding area in East Africa for the 2.5 million Lesser Flamingoes, whose status of "near threatened" is a consequence of their dependence on the single breeding location. As salinity increases, so do the number of cyanobacteria, and the lake can support more nests. These flamingoes, the single large flock in East Africa, gather along saline lakes in the region, where they feed on Spirulina (a blue-green algae with red pigments). Lake Natron is a safe breeding location because its caustic environment is a barrier against predators trying to reach their nests on seasonally-forming evaporite islands. Greater Flamingo also breed on the mud flats.

LAKE MANYARA- Lake Manyara is a soda lake, i.e. has a high content of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. The water is therefore not drinkable, but the algae and crustaceans living in such water is eaten by flamingos, which can be seen in numbers on the lake. Generally, more flamingos are seen (and are seen closer to the lakeshore) when the water level is high, i.e. during and after rainy seasons.

LAKE MOMELA,ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK-Fringed by green hills, seven lakes nestle in valleys and depressions punctuating the post-volcanic landscape. Their sodium rich contents and the formation of algae make the lakes alkaline, especially the big Momella Lake and Lake Reshateni - therefore all year round a favourable feeding and resting areas for flamingos.

LAKE NDUTU-There are thousands of greater flamingos on Lake Ndutu at the moment.The greater flamingos eat crustaceans and the conditions in the lake must be just right for them. This will probably change in the coming months and then maybe the conditions will be ideal for an explosion of the blue-green algae on which the lesser flamingos feed. Sometimes both species are present but generally one is dominant at any one time depending on the availability of their preferred food.