NUR-SULTAN – Nearly 1,000 pink flamingos resting on Lake Karakol in Aktau in western Kazakhstan were spotted on a video filmed by Aktau resident Nurken Tazhibai March 9, reports the Lada local newspaper.
Gracious birds flying over Lake Karakol. Click to see the map in full size.
Tazhibai said the filming took half an hour and the use of a small drone helped to not frighten the birds away.
“I managed to capture so many flamingos in one place for the first time. Until yesterday, I flew the drone over the lake, but there were fewer birds, and sometimes they divided themselves into small flocks. I can say for sure that our filming did not interfere with their flight at all. They did not notice it and even touched the drone with their wings several times,” said Tazhibai.
Flamingos have been frequently visiting the lake. In November 2020, Aktau resident Azamat Sarsenbayev released a video featuring pink flamingos near Lake Karakol that went viral overnight.
Karakol lake is located on the southern outskirts of Aktau within the Karagiye-Karakol nature reserve. Reeds are widespread across its islets and the western shore, which creates favourable conditions for a huge number of various migrating birds.
Pink flamingos were for the first time recorded in Karakol in the fall of 1970. The migrating birds have stopped every year in spring and autumn.
Apart from flamingos, the lake is a habitat for up to 175 species of waterfowl and near-water birds in different seasons, including more than 20 birds that are listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book,
