Kenya-Lake Nakuru National Park is one of many articles to be created from photos taken on three connected safaris (Botswana and Zambia, Tanzania, and Kenya) between June 20 and July 31, 2009, with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, California (www.cheesemans.com). We had previously traveled with them to Antarctica, 2000/2001.
Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes in Central Kenya named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Lake Nakuru National Park was created in 1961.
It is best known for its thousands,
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Flamingos, which are difficult to
distinguish in the distance, often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath...
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Walking among the Great White Pelicans
is one of 19 species of Storks. The Stork is mute and gives no bird call....
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In flight the Pelican is an elegant
soaring bird with its head held close to and aligned with the body by...
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Recent research has indicated the
standing on one leg may allow the Flamingos to conserve more body heat, since...
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The Great White Pelican is also known as
the Eastern White Pelican. It breeds from southeastern Europe through...
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This Pelican is the second-largest
pelican weighing about 22 pounds. It is about 63 inches long and has a...
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Males are larger than females, and have
a long beak that grows in a downwards arc, as opposed to the shorter,...
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A Sacred Ibis joins the Pelicans as it,
too, likes marshy wetlands and mud flats. The Ibis feeds on various...
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Joining the Pelicans is a Little Egret
which stalks its prey in shallow water, often running with raised wings or...
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Pelicans catch fish in their huge bill
pouches, while swimming at the surface. They also eat amphibians, crustaceans...
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Pelicans swim well with their short,
strong legs and their feet with all four toes webbed. Their tails are...
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Pelicans rub the backs of their heads on
their preen glands to pick up its oily secretion, which they transfer...
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Pelicans have a layer of special fibers
deep in the breast muscles allowing them to hold the wings rigidly horizontal...
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Pelicans often fish in groups as they
form a line to chase schools of small fish into shallow water, and then scoop...
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Lake Nakuru's abundance of algae
attracts the vast number of flamingos that famously lines the shore. Nakuru...
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This species of Pelicans have a complex
communal courtship involving a group of males chasing a single female in the...
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The Pelicans begin copulation shortly
after pairing and continue for 3 to 10 days before egg-laying. The...
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Both sexes of the Pelican incubate the
eggs on top of or below the feet. The female will lay at least two eggs, and...
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More and more Flamingos and Pelicans.
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The word "flamingo" comes from the Latin
word meaning flame. Flamingos obtain their pink/orange/reddish...
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Flamingo pairs bond for breeding and
sometimes mate within that pair bond for several breeding seasons....
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This is one of Diane's favorite photos -
a zoom lens lets you see these Eastern White Pelicans and Flamingos up close.
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Flamingos live an average of 20 to 30
years, and males and females look alike.
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Another one of Diane's favorites -
Eastern White Pelicans and Flamingos in the background.
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Pelicans are in the air and on the shore
with Flamingos in the water. Unlike most birds, which regurgitate food...
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The Pelicans' young gather in pods or
crèches of up to 100 birds in which parents recognize and feed...
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The young fledge 10 to 12 weeks after
hatching. They may remain with their parents afterwards, but are now...
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The weight of a Pelican's feathers is
greater than that of its bones.
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These Pelicans can hold over three
gallons of food and water in their bills. They strain the water out before...
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A pair of Pelicans are monogamous for a
single season, but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area. Mates are...
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Adult flamingos are about four feet tall
and weigh three to nine pounds depending on which of six species they are....
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Flamingos eat with their heads upside
down in the water, so they can suck water and food in with the front of their...
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During the day Flamingos preen using
their bills and spreading oil from a gland near the base of their tail...
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Flamingos also rest by standing on one
leg. The “knee” of the flamingo is actually an ankle joint and the...
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Pelicans fly in behind the Flamingos
which will fly when startled or to migrate. The Flamingos run to gather speed...
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Bird watching and photography were so
good along the lake that we returned the following morning to experience the...
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The Flamingos in front of the Pelicans
have webbing between their toes which helps them stand in soft mud and when...
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The Lodge is cleverly laid out such that most rooms and sitting areas afford...
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Africa
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