Lagunas (Lagoons) de Flamingos

On our trip south from Uyuni, we stopped at two beautiful lagunas (lagoons), teeming with flamingos. Their walk and the graceful postures they assume, made me think of the time I recently spent watching penguins in Antarctica. But with flamingos, they can fly and do so with such amazing grace.

The question we asked our guide was - what are the flamingos eating as they carefully strut around the lagoons. It turns out they are eating algae, diatoms and minerals from the lagoon. To eat, flamingos will stir up the bottom of the lake with their feet and duck their beaks down into the mud and water to catch their meal. They have larger bills and stiff lamellae to filter fine particles from the water. A flamingo's pink or reddish feather, leg, and facial coloration come from a diet high in alpha and beta carotenoid pigments.

Laguna Hedionda

Our first stop was Laguna Hedionda. This lagoon is located high in the Cordillera Real de los Andes Mts. (4,115m - 13,500ft). We watched as a thunderstorm followed us to the shoreline. The mountain scenery in the background with the approaching thunderstorm - made for a beautiful setting.

Laguna Colorado

It was going to be hard to surpass the beauty of the Laguna Hedionda, but the Laguna Colorado did just that. As we crested a hill, a valley filled with thousands of flamingos was before us. The backdrop of the Andes Mountains, made the view all the more specular.