The flamingos have now laid nine eggs. Four of which are unfortunately not going to hatch. The remaining five are all ok. The big excitement of today is that this is day 28 of the incubation period. Flamingo eggs normally incubate in 27 – 32 days, so we are expecting the first egg to hatch today or in the next couple of days.

The media have been out for a news item with BBC Look North airing on their 1330hrs news and also this evening at 1830. The Yorkshire Evening Post will also be featuring it tonight or tomorrow.

Did you know that you can Adopt a Bird at Harewood? If you would like to adopt a baby flamingo please call 0113 218 1000. All proceeds from adoption go towards our conservation and research activity. Adopting a Bird doesn’t mean that you can take the bird home, but we’ll acknowledge your adoption with a welcome pack, a plaque on the enclosure and send you a twice yearly ‘Stock Press’ Newsletter, as well as invite you to a summer evenings bird adoption evening.

The Yorkshire Evening Post has done a lovely write up on our new exhibition and Professor David Hill’s new book.

After nearly twenty years of nothing, our Chilean Flamingos have started laying eggs, there are currently six eggs being sat on by the Flamingos. The first eggs are due to hatch in about a week.

One of the theories as to why the Flamingos haven’t laid eggs before is that there haven’t been enough of them to feel comfortable. To rectify this we have introduced life size cardboard cut outs of the birds and a sprinkler system to keep the island that they are laying their eggs on damp. Having damp soil enables them to build their nests as you can see in the picture.