Staff at Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary in Hayle are thrilled to announce a flamingo egg was laid on 15th June, with others in the flock looking very interested at doing the same!
Keeper Becky Waite explains “We have only had one egg hatch previously, which was back in 2019, and that was the now famous ‘Derek’ who was hand-reared as the parents stopped incubating it a few days before it was due to hatch. So, we stepped in, put the egg in an incubator and the rest is history! The name Derek was my initial nickname for ‘him’, but at about 8 days old, I sent a bit of the eggshell for DNA analysis and found out that Derek was in fact a girl! The name had already stuck with everyone, so we decide to keep it.
The new egg is from a different pair to Derek’s parents, and fingers crossed, it will hatch around mid-July. It’s great to see that others in the flock also seem very interested in nesting, so you never know, more eggs could be laid soon. Here’s hoping!”
The new pair have been named Colin and Penelope, inspired by the elegance and intrigue of ‘Bridgerton’ and characters Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington 😊
Paradise Park has nine Caribbean flamingos and they are one of the highlights of a visit and can been seen in their open enclosure within the Walled Garden.
FLAMINGO LIVE WEBCAM – You can also watch the flock, including the nest with the egg, on the LIVE webcam here https://paradisepark.org.uk/events-and-news/flamingo-webcam/