November
14, 2018
Updated:
November 15, 2018 10:33 AM
The
migrations of 10 frequent flyer flamingos are being tracked by satellite as
part of a celebration of UAE wetlands conservation.
The Abu
Dhabi Birdathon – launched by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and Etihad
Airways – will count the air miles racked up by the flying squad to help better
understand their migration patterns and raise awareness about Al Wathba Wetland
Reserve, from which they are setting off.
The birds
took flight on Tuesday and will be tracked until March 4 when the flamingo that
reaches the farthest point will be the winner.
Since Al
Wathba was established by the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, as a protected
area in 1998 after observing the successful breeding of the flamingo for the
first time at the site, the scheme has been launched to coincide with the Year
of Zayed.
There are
about 3,000 flamingos at the reserve, and the sea of pink is likely to increase
when the migration season reaches its peak.
They
begin to migrate to the area from August and settle there until mid February.
Each of
the 10 tagged birds is being linked to major company, that will name the bird
and encourage its staff and the public to follow its progress on the Birdathon
website.
A team of
six officials from the agency began setting traps to catch the participating
flamingos to tag and release at 5am on Tuesday.
“We
started setting up when it was really dark, so the birds didn’t see us,” said
Dr Salim Javed, acting director of terrestrial and marine biodiversity at the
agency.
The team
waited from a distance for an hour until the first flamingo walked into the
trap, with the second following 15 minutes later.
Details
such as the bird’s weight and wing size were taken to make sure they were in
good health, before a 45-gram tracker device was placed on them like a
backpack.
Both
birds were given some time to relax before being released at 8.30am.
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