Fly Away Home
“We were up at 2am to get to Sanccob [Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds] to pack the first load of 42 rehabilitated Lesser Flamingos for the 6.15am flight to Kimberley,” Nicky Stander, the rehabilitation manager at Sanccob in Cape Town, tells me. “After being quarantined in Kimberley, they will be returned to their Kamfers Dam breeding ground.”
Nicky describes the stress of making sure the flight went well. ’I had to drive like a snail to the airport to make sure I didn’t damage any of the birds’ fragile legs with any sudden jolts. I must have aged ten years waiting for the call from Kimberley to let me know the flamingos had made it back safely. Fortunately, they were all okay, but it’s been a long journey nursing them from day-old chicks to being able to
