SAN FRANCISCO, CA — For the first time in nearly a decade, fluffy Chilean flamingo chicks can be seen peeking out from under their parents' wings at the San Francisco Zoo and Gardens.
Over the past week, the zoo's flamingo flock increased by four -- the first successful hatchings in nine years.
"The chicks are so far doing well and being cared for by their parents," said Quinn Brown, the zoo's curator of birds.
On July 11, zoo staff spotted a flamingo egg pipping, part of the natural hatching process when the chick starts to break through the shell. Two days later, the chick could be seen with its mother on a nest mound under her pink feathers.
The chick was successfully feeding on the crop milk -- a nutritious, bright red liquid produced by both male and female parents, according to the zoo.
By Thursday three more chicks had hatched.
"There's nothing sweeter than seeing a flamingo chick having other flamingo chicks to grow up with," Brown said.
The zoo released photos Thursday of fluffy white chicks peeking out from under their parents' wings and sitting on nest mounds.
When the chicks are 3 to 6 months old, during their juvenile phase, they will look more like adult flamingos, except they won't be fully pink. They learn how to filter feed on their own, ingesting foods rich in beta-carotene.
As adults from 3 to 5 years old they start to turn pale pink, turning to deep pink as they mature, the zoo said.
Guests can see the Chilean flamingo chicks at the Flamingo Lake habitat located at the end of Zoo Street by the Leaping Lemur Cafe.
The four new chicks come after the zoo made adjustments to the flamingos' environment over the past several months, installing a mesh netting enclosure over the habitat.
The mesh enclosure means the flock can stay outside at night, rather than inside their night quarters, allowing them to act more naturally.
Before, the birds were brought inside at night to protect against wild predators and as a hedge against avian flu. It kept the birds safe, but the flamingos weren't likely to nest since they stay on nest mounds for more than 30 days.
"We had no expectations of chicks this year, but wanted to see if they would behave differently since they had unlimited outdoor access," Brown said.
Flamingo keeper Liz Gibbons observed some behavioral changes in the flock in April. The next month, staff started prepping the flamingo habitat's beach area to provide the best conditions possible for the flock to nest build.
To prep the mounds, staff used Dura Edge's Dura Pitch, the same brand of dirt used in Major League Baseball stadiums, including the San Francisco Giants.
They also added extra dirt to nearby flat surfaces. Staff spent hours building cone-shaped mounds, for the flamingos to use or build their nests with the extra added substrate between the water and the fence.
Soon after the manmade mounds were built, flamingo pairs opted to build their nests in one of the corners of the habitat, close to the public viewing area.
To allow them their nesting time with limited disruptions, staff cordoned off part of the closest viewing area with a tiki-shading, allowing them privacy.
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