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The Secret Life of the Flamingo: The Conservation Photographer Capturing Mesmerizing Images of Mexico’s Iconic Bird

June 22, 2022
Henry Club

written by Rebecca Cairns, CNN

Ever since he was four years old, photographer Claudio Contreras has been obsessed with cobb flamingos: their vibrant pink plumage, horn-like curved beak, and elegant, sloping neck.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Cobb visited the Yucatan Peninsula every year during the school holidays. His father built a house on sand dunes in the port village of Chuburna, between the sea and the wetland, and together they watched flamingo colonies gather in the lagoons and muddy marshes that stretched for miles behind the house.

“It was a very beautiful sight when we were able to see the pinkish-orange mass of birds in the distance,” says Cobb. “He stayed in my memory.”

caribbean flamingo The “symbol” of the Yucatan Peninsula from which his father is from, Cobb says, appears on packaging for beach towels, pool inflatables, garden furniture, and even pink salt. But despite its popularity, little is known about its movements and biology in the Yucatán and beyond, he says.

The Caribbean flamingo lives in salty wetlands and coastal waters around Mexico, the Americas, and the Caribbean. Credit: Claudio Contreras Cobb / Nature Picture Library

Now, decades after this “iconic bird” was first seen, Cobb is sharing his passion in a new photography book, “maral“Published last month.

Cobb hopes that his intimate portraits of the bird will help others “fall in love with the flamingo” and inspire them to care for the wetlands where they live.

from lab to lens

Cobb’s childhood fascination with nature led him to study wildlife biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he took a course in microphotography and “discovered what the language of photography can do”, he says. Huh.

Combining his passions, Cobb focused on conservation photography upon leaving university. He joined the International League of Conservation Photographers, which in 2009 asked him to capture tagging flamingo chicks in the Yucatan.

Powered by, with support from Mexico’s Flamingo Conservation Program Pedro and Elena Hernandez Foundation Since 2015, Cobb has spent several years collecting the images that make up his book. He says the biggest challenge was getting close to breeding birds.

“If you disturb someone, they start screaming and flying, and you can create a panic. They can all lay eggs, and leave the colony,” says Cobb.

Cobb spent years gaining the trust of flamingos so that he could photograph their nesting colonies and young chicks.

Cobb spent years gaining the trust of flamingos so that he could photograph their nesting colonies and young chicks. Credit: Claudio Contreras Cobb / Nature Picture Library

Cobb says that his “slow approach” to photography enabled him to collect intimate images of flamingos. He often wore camouflage, the army crawled across the muddy ground to get closer to the birds without fear.

On some occasions, he took a boat to the lagoon before dawn so that the birds would become accustomed to his presence until sunrise, and stayed until after nightfall. “It’s tough, with the sun and 40 degrees (heat),” Cobb says. “It’s very consuming for the body.”

pretty in Pink

Unlike humans, flamingos are well adapted to their extreme environments.

Gathering in groups known as a flamingo, flamingos usually live in brackish water, but some remain alkaline.soda lake“Sodium carbonate is so high in water that it will irritate or burn the skin of most animals.
Flamingos use their hooked beaks to feed on shrimp, mollusks and algae that are rich in carotenoids, the pigment that gives them their pink color.

Flamingos use their hooked beaks to feed on shrimp, mollusks and algae that are rich in carotenoids, the pigment that gives them their pink color. Credit: Claudio Contreras Cobb / Nature Picture Library

Here, the flamingo encounter some predators Or other birds that will compete for food. Flamingos need to consume 10% of their body weight daily, says Cobb — so long, uninterrupted meal times are important.

Their diet includes algae, shrimp and mollusks that contain large amounts of carotenoids — the same pigments that give fruits and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins and tomatoes — and which are responsible for the flamingo’s signature hot-pink appearance, says Cobb. Huh.

wetlands in danger

Flamingo conservation has been a high priority for Mexico since the 1970s and 80s, when it established two federal wetland reserves on the Yucatan Peninsula, later designated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.

Rhea Lizard Flamingos nest and breed in the east, while on the western border of the Yucatan, Rhea Celestun is an important feeding site. Additional reserves set up by the local Yucatan government mean that nearly all of the peninsula’s wetlands are protected, Cobb says.
Flamingo numbers have been on the rise since the park’s inception, says Cobb. Based on the number of nests in the breeding colony at Ria Lagartos, the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) estimated that there were approximately 30,000 adult birds in 2021.
But these reserves do not provide complete protection, he says. Agricultural chemicals used in highland areas flow through underwater river systems and pollute wetlands, and while reserves must be protected from urban development, Cobb says there are still examples. Illegal construction and garbage disposal,
Rhea Celestone (pictured) attracts 50,000 tourists every year to see flamingos – although Cobb warns that this may disrupt their eating habits.

Rhea Celestone (pictured) attracts 50,000 tourists every year to see flamingos – although Cobb warns that this may disrupt their eating habits. Credit: Claudio Contreras Cobb / Nature Picture Library

Flamingo habitats are threatened by climate change and rising sea levels, and tourism also has an impact. While the nesting colony is closed for tourists, till 50,000 visitors Every year there are visitors to Celestone to see flamingos that can disrupt their eating habits. As officials have introduced rules to limit the number of tourists, Cobb says, it is too early to know whether the caps will be enough.

Now, Cobb is back in the Yucatan, staying at his childhood vacation home in Chuberna, photographing wetlands. This time around, horseshoe crabs are his focus, and he hopes he can continue to draw more attention to the wildlife and the communities that live there.

“To most people, the wetland is like a stinky, dark, scary place. But it’s full of wonders—and the flamingo is just one of them,” says Cobb.