Flamingos in the Desert

Dubai is known for several things—both good and bad—and one of them is the tallest structure in the world, the Burj Khalifa …

… and not so far away from this engineering marvel lies a 620-hectare area comprising of  sabkha saline flats, intertidal mudflats and mangroves, small lagoons and pools, and a few tiny islands.  This is UAE’s first Ramsar site, known as the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary.

We walked through this path that lead us to an observatory area that resembles a tiny wooden hut …

…and observed the pink birds discreetly from a safe distance without disrupting the bird’s daily routine, which includes standing and appearing busy, and scratching their delicate pink feathers.

Credit to the picture above goes to my lovely sister, Sanaf, who has greatly improved her photography in such a short period of time.

Behold the greater flamingo …

The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family.

We took a closer look at the flamingos by peeking into a monocular that stood proudly atop a magnificent Manfrotto tripod, which I wanted to bring home with me.  I think it will look gorgeous with my Nikon …

The flamingos have an interesting feeding technique, which involves stirring up the mud and water with their long legs and webbed feet. They then bury their bills, or even their entire heads, upside down in the water and suck up both mud and water. They shake their head from side to side to expel the excess mud and water, hold back and eat their meal (which is high in carotene, responsible for the pink color of their feathers).

Otherwise, they just stand on one foot and appear to look pretty …

Some of these beauties with Dubai’s skyscrapers in the background …

And just before you leave the sanctuary, the security guy will ask you to sign your name and contact number …

Visiting hours:  9 am – 4 pm, daily (except Fridays)

Individuals and family group visits do not require permit, you can simply drive down there and visit the birds.  However, company and/or media group need to call them first and get a permit.

To visit the official website of the Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, click here.

And yes, the flamingos sleep while standing on one foot.  And they croak like a frog.