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Fuente de Piedra has a beautiful, cute and amazing summer event that few visitors get to experience. This year was the 40th anniversary, and this year’s numbers were amazing.
In celebration of 40 years, 600 flamingos chicks were ringed.
Fuente de Piedra Nature Reserve, Malaga, celebrated its 40th anniversary by tagging more than 600 greater flamingos chicks over the weekend. This was the third best result since 1986 when the tradition started. Over 400 volunteers under the coordination of the Andalucian government completed the operation within four hours in the early hours.
Fina Martinez thanked all those involved and said that the event was proof of how conservation relies on collaboration between scientists, local officials, and people. Fuente de Piedra mayor Siro Pachon joined the event along with technicians from Cordoba Zoo and the regional environment agency.
What 40 years’ data has revealed
Over 21,000 chicks, or roughly 270,000 flamingos, have been ringed at the lagoon in the past 26 years. Monitoring began in 1984. Each ring has a unique code that researchers can read from afar, allowing them to track birds without having to catch them again.
Over 70% of ringed flamingos have been seen at least once. This adds up to 167,000 sightings from Guinea Bissau to Cyprus. Around a third (33%) of the repeat sightings occur at Fuente De Piedra. This shows how strongly flamingos are drawn to their natal grounds.
This year’s breeding season was boosted by heavy rain
The difference was rain. The 2025/26 Spanish hydrological year delivered 663 litres of water per square metre, the fourth highest total in the past 50 years. This pushed the lagoon’s depth to 101cm, which is well above its usual 50cm. In the following years, predators were better kept at bay and 35,177 pairs of breeding birds nested on the site. This was the largest number since tracking began in the year 1984. Fuente de Piedra, a Wetland with International Importance protected since 1983 by the EU Natura 2000 network is home to common cranes as well as gull-billed Terns.
