Flamingo Flamboyance

Flamingos are the signature bird of the Camargue (in southern France). Some are resident all year, but many more winter in Africa, and migrate north for the summer, when thousands can be seen.

This blip is from a wonderful refuge in the heart of the Camargue, called La Capelière. I was in a blind, which accounts for the relatively high viewpoint. A grey day, but the flamingos lit up the landscape.

Photographing these birds requires patience! They spend much of the time feeding with their heads underwater (they bend their necks down so that their heads are actually upside down). Otherwise they move constantly--and most positions are not especially photogenic.

For birders: these are greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber).