Seasonal distribution, abundance, and nesting of puna, andean and chilean flamingos

CAZIANI SANDRA M.; ROCHA OLIVO OMAR; RODRIGUEZ RAMÍREZ EDUARDO; ROMANO MARCELO; DERLINDATI ENRIQUE J.; TÁLAMO ANDRÉS; RICALDE DAVID; QUIROGA CARMEN; CONTRERAS JUAN PABLO; VALQUI MARIANA; SOSA HEBER

THE CONDOR

Cooper Ornithological Society

Lugar: Colorado, USA; Año: 2007

0010-5422

Of the world’s five flamingo species, the rarest and least known are the Puna Flamingo (Phoenicopterus jamesi) and the Andean Flamingo (P. andinus).  We conducted four simultaneous surveys from 1997 to 2001 (two in summer and two in winter), to estimate the distribution and abundances of the three species in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.. Of 224 wetlands surveyed, 179 had flamingos; 63% of these were in the High Andes (above 4000 m), 25% were in the Puna (3000 to 4000 m), and the remainder in Lowlands (below 3000 m). Maximum counts were 64,000 Puna Flamingos (summer 1998), 34,000 Andean Flamingos (summer 1997), and 83,000 Chilean Flamingos (winter 1998). In summer, Puna Flamingos congregated at wetlands in the High Andes, with 50% of the population in just three lakes: Colorada, Grande and Vilama; Andean Flamingos were more uniformly distributed throughout a wider altitudinal range (2500 m), and Chilean flamingo showed a heterogeneous pattern. In winter, all species moved to lower latitudes within the High Andes and to lower altitudes on the central plains of Argentina. The most important nesting sites were Colorada, in Bolivia, for the Puna Flamingo, Surire and Atacama, in Chile, for the Andean Flamingo and for the Chilean Flamingo, Surire (Chile). We recommend 1) continued monitoring through simultaneous summer censuses, and 2) a conservation strategy that considers the large spatial and temporal scales at which these species operate, including their migrations