When to see Flamingos on Lake Nakuru National Park
When to see Flamingos on Lake Nakuru National Park : Most of the travelers on a Kenya safari to Lake Nakuru national park visit the park with intentions of spotting the beautiful Flamingoes which are the prime attraction of Lake Nakuru and Lake Nakuru national park.
Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru is one of the rift valley soda lakes in Kenya found in the Rift Valley and is protected by Lake Nakuru national park, the lake lies at an elevation of 1,754 meters above the sea level. Lake Nakuru has a surface area of 5to 45 square kilometers and average depth of 0.30 meters.
Lake Nakuru has abundance of algae which attracts a vast quality of flamingoes and they are seen in large numbers forming a peak plague along the shores of the lake.
Lake Nakuru national park
Before visiting Lake Nakuru national park with intentions of spotting the beautiful Flamingoes, one of the most asked questions is when to see the flamingoes.
Lake Nakuru national park and Lake Nakuru have been bird haven for the longest time possible, flamingoes are the main tourist attraction in Lake Nakuru national park. however there are other birds recorded to be over 400 bird species. Other birds include African Fish Eagle, Slender-billed greenbul, Long-tailed widowbird, Rufous-throated wryneck, Montane white-eye, Red-capped lark, Northern puff back, Rüppell’s robin-chat, Shining sunbird and many more.
Flamingoes feed on the blue algae found in the alkaline – Lake Nakuru, while at the shores of the lake, these flamingoes make the lake to look pink and this is created as a result of the conservation of the flamingoes on the lake . Because of the presence of food, over 1.5 million flamingoes can be seen on the shores of the lake which is a perfect sight to see and fantastic to photographers.
The presence of these flamingoes at Lake Nakuru are greatly affected by climate and weather conditions, however no matter the time of the year you are able to see the flamingoes. Another factor affecting the population and presence of flamingoes is the alkalinity of the lake, when the alkaline levels are high, the blue algae on the lake become high and the flamingoes remain on the lake. However, when the alkaline levels drop, the algae where flamingoes depend on also drops and this causes the flamingoes to shift to the other soda lakes in the region such as Lake Borongori in search for food. This means that the alkalinity level in the waters of Lake Nakuru plays an important role in the numbers of flamingoes on Lake Nakuru.
About flamingoes
Flamingoes are long-legged and necked birds with pink features which are classified into lesser and greater flamingoes, flamingoes are wading birds in the family of Phoenicopteridae. Flamingoes differ in size, lesser flamingoes and bigger than the greater flamingoes and they can both be found in Lake Nakuru.
Large numbers of flamingoes at Lake Nakuru are witnessed when the rain has stopped, however even when the rain season is continuing large numbers can still be seen. The reason to why you can see these flamingoes in this period of time is that blue algae on lake Nakuru becomes much and in plenty after the rains or during the rainy season thus attracting large numbers of flamingoes.
In the season before the rains, there are least numbers of flamingoes on the shores of Lake Nakuru, this is because before the rains, the blue algae levels on the lake reduce which causes the flamingoes to migrate to other lakes in the region so as to find food.
In the dry season, there is a lot of food for the flamingoes in Lake Nakuru national park and this is because of the high algae levels, although not all flamingoes get enough food for survival.
In conclusion, the best time to see the flamingoes on Lake Nakuru and Lake Nakuru national park is during July, August, September, December, January and February. However, you can still see the flamingoes in other months of the year. The months of July, August, September, December, January and February are peak season attracting a large number of tourists crowding the park.
Lake Nakuru national park is one of the scenic and beautiful national parks in Kenya, the park is one of the popular Kenya safari destinations famously known for hosting huge population of rhinos. Lake Nakuru national park is a birder’s haven hosting approximately 400 bird species, in additional to flamingoes, other birds found in the park include Abyssinian thrush, Arrow – marked babbler, bateleur, black-tailed godwit, black-winged lapwing , Brimstone canary, Brown –backed scrub robin, crab—plover, Eastern imperial eagle, European roller, grey crowned crane, grey headed wood pecker, great snipe among others.
