Biosphere Reserve

El Cuyo  is the last important nesting site for the pink flamingo of Mexico in the Yucatan, and one of the most important beaches in the world for the nesting of the hawksbill turtle. The chicks of these little animals have evoked a new interest in people previously unfamiliar with them, since they witness the effort expended by the progenitors in constructing their nests. After hatching, the small chicks will begin their journey swimming or flying to other horizons. 

Through the course of their lifespan we fervently hope that they will return to nest as adults 4 or 15 years later. And it is paramount that the children of the Yucatan Peninsula have the ability to participate in the continuation of this life cycle. 

BIRTH AND BREEDING OF THE CHICKS The reproductive colonies are located on the banks of water bodies (rías), in small sandy islands or in lying mudbars.  The preferred nesting zones are Petén Hu, Punta Mecoh and Yalmakán, all included in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve. Nevertheless, inclement weather manifestations like hurricanes, "northers" or disturbances provoked by man (saline expansion, road construction and urban development) have influenced flamingo distribution. For example, in the early 1990s a reproductive colony was established in the Uaymitún Marsh, near Progreso, due to beneficial changes brought by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. By the end of March to the beginning of April, flocks return to their breeding sites located east of Ría Lagartos. During this period they experience pre-copulatory courtship with an increased intensity, until they arrive at the selected nesting site chosen through exploration which takes approximately, two weeks.  

How many eggs does the female lay? The female only lays one egg; rarely will she lay two which would indicate that the breeding population has been deficient in previous years and their need to increase the number of individuals to obtain a viable or genetically healthy population The eggs are formed of a thick shell with a dull white color and often times scaly white deposits of calcium on the surface. They are long and elliptic at one end and more pointed at the other. 

INCUBATION In the Yucatan, the first egg-layings start by mid April with an approximate incubation period of between 27 and 31 days. Something worth mentioning is the fact that both parents take turns incubating the eggs, usually alternating between sunrise and sunset. While one incubates the egg, the other surrounds the nest and poses itself by its mate and the hatchling in order to provide them with shade. After hatching, the chicks remain in the nest for two or three days, they begin to walk clumsily and in more or less ten days they will join the rest of the chicks where they will group and enter the water. During the first days, the chicks possess a smooth white down that gradually changes to gray. That color will eventually change to a pinkish white which enables them to identify the young until they are a year and a half old, where they will acquire the beautiful pink coloration of an immature, which turns almost orange during courtship. The chick nurseries (creche) are watched after by adult flamingo nannies that take turns while the rest of the parents participate in feeding and incubating. 

This is how it is possible to observe different nurseries with the different age chicks which are 20, 40 or 60 days old running around the nesting island or practicing their take off. At an early age the difference in size is noticeable because of the rate in which they grow before they are able to fly, gaining anywhere between 700 and 2,500 g in a period of two and a half months.. The hatching takes place in June and may extend until the end of August. 

The chicks initiate their first flights in July mastering it by September when the youngsters join the adult population. After the brooding season, dispersion takes place to nearby areas so that the flock may finally migrate to Ría Celestún at the westernmost part of the peninsula and at 280 km from Ría Lagartos. 

RAINS AND INCREASE OF TIDE LEVEL; A SERIOUS NATURAL ENEMY Among the adverse factors to incubation, we can mention the increased precipitation during the months of June through October. This, along with the increasing high tides, can destroy the nests. These natural phenomena erode the basal part of the nest and haul the eggs away. The effect of eggs lost through flooding can be between 20% and 100% in one season. As years go by, the small islands may erode as low as the estuary water level. Therefore, flamingos look for new nesting sites. On the other hand, if no sites exist, it would be necessary for man to restore the small islands. 

Where do the flamingos of the Yucatan Peninsula live? In the Yucatán, there are three main grounds, identified in the 1990s, with the largest concentrations of flamingos. These areas are:

 1) the Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve, where they are abundant during the winter months, 

2) the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, where reproductive birds find good feeding spots in the spring and summer, particularly during the nesting season, 

3) the Uaymitún Hunting-Protected Poligon, an intermediate zone, with presence of flamingos year-round. In fact, you could say the flamingos are present in all the coastal wetlands of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Los Petenes State Reserve in Campeche to the Sian Kaían Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo. 

Two attractive places for viewing flamingos from a boat are Bocas de Dzilam State Reserve in Yucatan and the Yumbalam Biosphere Reserve (Holbox Island) in Quintana Roo. However, during certain months, you will not find flamingos present in these areas 

How many flamingos live in Mexico? Twenty seven thousand flamingos were tallied by the July 2001 aerial survey, covering the coastal transect of Holbox Island in Quintana Roo to Los Petenes State Reserve in Campeche. That same year 4,500 chicks were born in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, totaling 40,700 individuals. 

What is the survival rate of flamingos? Thereís no information regarding the Mexican flamingo survival rates. However, considering 23 years of research performed by Mediterranean specialists studying a close relative called the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) they have found that between 50% - 70% of the young die between the first and third year 

What are the causes of death? As we explained, flamingos inhabit the entire coastal area of the Yucatan Peninsula. Luckily, the vast majority of the zones comprising this area is under protected natural reserve status. However, the flamingos live in sites close to inhabited areas. Within some reserves there are human settlements connected to other inhabited areas through roads. Some of these have obstructed the flow of water, causing a division of lagoons that, at the beginning of the century, extended in a continual flow from Celestun in the west to Bocas de Dzilam out east. Naturally, poor water flow and decreasing lagoon levels affect food provision for the flocks. The State of Yucatán Ecology Ministry coordinates this project, within the multi-partnered Hydrological Restoration Program. 

Another variable is increased salt concentration inside lagoons by means of construction of canals that communicate coastal marshes with the Gulf of Mexico. 

Although both causes mentioned above have not caused significant flamingo mortality, yet, we consider habitat and nesting area restoration are vital. There is a need to protect the entire Yucatán coast in order to sustain a healthy population, since flamingos have a need of using all coastal marshes, and temporarily available freshwater wetlands. 

The power lines that run over coastal lagoons cause deaths, particularly in young flamingos, and also in adults as they collide in night flights. It is important to locate small lights to signal the location of these cables night-flying flamingos. Power lines also need to be signaled with plastic markers to make them evident at daylight hours. Thirty five flamingos died between April-July during the Year 2000 nesting season due to power line collisions at El Cuyo, Yucatán. Airline pilots are attracted by large flamingo flocks. Particularly, when they fly small aircraft. When planes fly under 1,500ft altitude they cause big disturbances making birds take flight, colliding against each other. Such events provoke broken wings, legs and even direct fatalities. 

The crocodile is among the most important. There is a site in the Biosphere Reserve of Ria Lagartos where a spring was restored, removing mud and branches to improve natural water flow. During this work we encountered more than 35 flamingo tarsi that came up in this drinking site. In this same site, we found a crocodile that liked to rest and feed within the spring.

 In 1993 there were large fires in the state of Quintana Roo, extending until the outskirts of the Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve. This caused the jaguar to move to other sites in order to survive. In this same period 38 flamingo corpses were encountered in Peten Hu nesting site, and we also encountered substantial footprints of the feline. Since this date, flamingos have not built nests in this place, but at Yalmakan-a nearby island-better protected from large mammals, due to the fact mangrove trees are not an obstacle of their vision. 

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