Bundala National Park Ramsar wetland: Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) migratory flock timing?
What salinity levels and micro-crustacean blooms in Bundala’s coastal lagoons attract thousands of migratory Greater Flamingos between November and March?
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3 Answers from travellers
Bundala National Park is Sri Lanka’s first declared Ramsar wetland, comprising five shallow brackish coastal lagoons (Bundala, Embilikala, Malala, Koholankala, and Mahalewaya). Between November and March, during the peak of the Central Asian Flyway migration, flocks of Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) arrive from breeding grounds in the Rann of Kutch. Flamingos concentrate in Mahalewaya and Koholankala where evaporative salinity exceeds 30 PSU, triggering massive population blooms of brine shrimp (Artemia) and blue-green algae that flamingos filter-feed using lamellated downward-bent beaks.
Recent agricultural drainage diversions from the Kirindi Oya scheme lowered salinity in Malala lagoon, temporarily displacing flamingo feeding to salt pan basins.
Bundala also provides wintering habitat for over 15,000 shorebirds, including Marsh Sandpipers, Pacific Golden Plovers, and rare Red-necked Phalaropes.
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