Chilean Flamingo

Chilean Flamingo Conservation

The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is one of three flamingo species found in South America, and the only one that regularly occurs in the coastal wetlands of southern Chile. It depends on coastal lagoons, estuaries, and brackish wetlands to feed and rest for much of its annual cycle, making it a sensitive indicator of the conservation status of these ecosystems.

In the wetlands monitored by Fundación Conservación Marina in the Los Lagos Region — including the Maullín River Wetlands Nature Sanctuary and the wetlands of Curaco de Vélez and Quinchao in Chiloé — Chilean flamingos are regularly recorded, alongside other waterbird species such as swans, coscoroba swans, red-gartered coots, and herons.

FCM's Chilean Flamingo Conservation Program Aims To

• Generate baseline information on the species' abundance, distribution, and habitat use in the wetlands of northern Patagonia, through regular censuses and monitoring.
• Identify local threats (wetland alteration, human disturbance, changes in the water regime) that may affect the species at these sites.
• Link Chilean flamingo conservation to the shorebird and wetland conservation work the Foundation already carries out in the area, drawing on existing monitoring infrastructure and local capacity (birding guides, environmental monitors, community park rangers).
• Contribute data to regional conservation efforts and to the assessment of the species' conservation status at the national level.