Thousands of Flamingo Chicks Bring New Hope to Lake Tuz

A beautiful conservation success is unfolding at Lake Tuz in central Turkiye, where thousands of flamingo chicks have hatched at one of the world’s most important breeding sites for the graceful pink birds.

Just five years ago, the salt lake was in serious trouble. Once the second-largest lake in Turkiye, Lake Tuz had nearly dried out after extreme heat and low rainfall. In 2021, those harsh conditions led to the heartbreaking deaths of thousands of greater flamingo hatchlings.

Now, thanks to dedicated efforts to protect the fragile wetland, the lake is once again full of life.

Drone footage captured on June 10 showed around 5,000 young flamingos gathered across the lake, watched over by their parents as they begin learning how to feed, stay safe, and thrive in their natural home.

The rebound is a joyful sign for Lake Tuz, a treasured wetland on the Central Anatolia plateau. Known for its striking seasonal colors, mineral-rich waters, mud, and salt, the lake attracts wildlife photographers and nature lovers from across the globe.

“We will more than compensate for the losses of previous years by raising the population with these chicks during the season,” said Fahri Tunç, President of the Bird’s Eye View and Ecology Association.

“This is great news.

“The current number is more than double that of last year, which was more than double that of the year before,” Tunç told Turkiye’s news outlet DHA.

Lake Tuz has long been vulnerable to climate pressures. NASA reported in 2021 that the Mediterranean Basin, where the lake is located, has warmed faster than the global average since the pre-industrial era, making it a climate change hotspot.

Satellite imagery had shown the lake almost completely drying up, putting flamingos and other wildlife at risk by threatening both their nesting areas and their food supply, including algae.

The lake has no outlet and depends on groundwater from northern mountains, two major streams, and seasonal rainfall, especially in spring. In 1988, water covered 98% of the lake bed, according to research published in Regional Environmental Change. By early 2001, that had dropped to just 20%. In 2016, the lakebed was dry, and the same devastating situation returned in 2021.

But people stepped in to help.

The following year, Turkiye’s general directorate for the protection of natural assets began a water supply project at the lake, located about 90 miles southeast of Ankara. The project was created to safeguard nesting areas by pumping water into the parts of the wetland where flamingo chicks are born and raised.

The results have been heartening. In 2024, no mass deaths of flamingo chicks were reported, and this year’s hatch has brought even more encouragement for conservationists hoping the lake’s recovery will continue.

With thousands of chicks now growing under the care of their parents, Lake Tuz is offering a bright and hopeful reminder of what can happen when nature is given a helping hand.