Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, the Nature Association's science coordinator, Özge Balkız, said the natural habitat of the greater flamingo, known as red cranes in Turkey, are salty bodies of water.Noting that flamingos come to Turkey each year to summer and brood, Balkız said: “Flamingos are very selective and brood in saltwater areas only. Tuz Gölü and the Gediz Delta host most of the flamingos in our country. Tuz Gölü is the most important breeding ground for flamingos in Turkey.”
Noting that the number of flamingos spending the summer in Turkey changes according to the water level of Tuz Gölü, Balkız added: “Tuz Gölü has been known as a flamingo colony since the 1970s. Until the 1990s, tens of thousands of baby flamingos hatched here. We observed that the number of flamingos decreased as the water in the lake decreased. We have followed flamingo colonies in the lake regularly since 2003. While 5,000 flamingos hatched here in 2005, only 4,000 flamingos hatched in 2007. This number decreased to just 1,000 in 2008. Our research indicates that the decreasing water level of Tuz Gölü has caused the decrease in the number of flamingo chicks.”
Calling 2009 a lucky year for flamingos, Balkız said: “As a result of rains in the winter and spring, the water level of Tuz Gölü has increased. In the hatching season, 10,000 baby flamingos hatched.”
Noting that flamingos recently started to leave Tuz Gölü on their migration cycle, Balkız added: “Including the newly hatched baby flamingos, nearly 30,000 flamingos have started their migration. Flamingos in Turkey fly to Greece, Tunisia, Algeria, France and Mauritania. We also believe that flamingos in our country fly down to Iran and Israel.
Stating that this year's rains brought many flamingos to the lake, Balkız said that if nothing is done to save Tuz Gölü, there will be a serious threat to future flamingo populations, adding that to host more flamingos, Tuz Gölü must be saved.
