Los Flamencos Sanctuary ( es, Santuario de Fauna y Flora Los Flamencos) has been a designated wildlife sanctuary since 1977. It is located in the
Guajira Peninsula
The Guajira Peninsula ( es, Península de La Guajira, links=no, also spelled ''Goajira'', mainly in colonial period texts, guc, Hikükariby) is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean. It is the northernm ...
of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
's
Caribbean Region
The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean.[American flamingo
The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that trea ...]
es, and their nests that can reach high.
The sanctuary is located between the fishing village of ''Camarones'' and the Tapias River, surrounded by estuaries and marshes including ''Manzanillo'', ''Laguna Grande'', ''Ciénaga del Navío Quebrado'' and ''Tocoromanes'' marshes.
Many other shore and water birds can be found in the sanctuary such as
roseate spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America.
Taxonomy
The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...
s,
great egret
The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...
s,
laughing gull
The laughing gull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North Am ...
s and many others. The surrounding
xerophytic
A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or th ...
scrub habitat is also home to many endemic birds such as
buffy hummingbirds,
white-whiskered spinetail
The white-whiskered spinetail (''Synallaxis candei'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland ...
s,
Tocuyo sparrow
The Tocuyo sparrow (''Arremonops tocuyensis'') is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae that is found in Colombia and cities like Tocuyo and Lara of Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical ...
s, and
vermilion cardinal
The vermilion cardinal (''Cardinalis phoeniceus'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The vermilion cardinal is monotypic. It a ...
s.
File:SFF Los Flamencos 1.JPG, Laughing gull at sunset
File:SFF Los Flamencos 2.JPG, Entrance sign
See also
*
List of national parks of Colombia
The protected areas of Colombia are grouped into the National System of Protected Areas (Colombia), National System of Protected Areas. As of 2018, there are 59 nationally protected areas which cover about and represent more than 14% of the cou ...
*
Caribbean Natural Region, Colombia
External links
Birding Colombia - Los Flamencos Sanctuary SFF Los Flamencos
{{authority control
National parks of Colombia
Bird sanctuaries
Protected areas established in 1977
Geography of La Guajira Department
Tourist attractions in La Guajira Department