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A flock of lesser flamingos wading and feeding in the shallows of Momella Lake, a soda lake in Arusha National Park

Wildlife

Flamingos & Soda Lakes

Pink shallows, shimmering salt flats and birds in extraordinary numbers.

Two species occur here. The lesser flamingo is the smaller and far more numerous, feeding on microscopic blue-green algae filtered through a specialised bill; the greater flamingo is taller, paler and feeds on small invertebrates in the mud. Their colour comes from pigments in what they eat, which is why young birds are grey-white and adults vary from pale pink to deep rose.

Lake Natron matters most. Its shallow, hot and highly alkaline water deters predators, and it is the most important regular breeding site for lesser flamingos in East Africa — the birds build small cone-shaped mud nests on the salt flats. Breeding does not happen every year and depends heavily on rainfall and water levels, so it is something to hope for rather than plan around.

Elsewhere, flamingos gather in changing numbers on Lake Manyara, on Lake Magadi inside the Ngorongoro Crater, on the Momella Lakes in Arusha National Park and seasonally on Lake Eyasi. Alongside them the soda lakes hold pelicans, avocets, stilts, spoonbills and large numbers of waders, making them rewarding even when the flamingos have moved on.

Highlights

  • Lesser and greater flamingos, often in mixed flocks of many thousands
  • Lake Natron, East Africa’s key breeding site for lesser flamingos
  • Lake Magadi on the Ngorongoro Crater floor, where flamingos feed against a backdrop of crater walls
  • The Momella Lakes in Arusha National Park, each a slightly different colour according to its mineral content
  • Pelicans, avocets, stilts and waders sharing the same shorelines
  • Extraordinary light for photography at dawn and dusk, with heat haze and reflections over the salt flats

Where to see it

Best places for this

  • The ash-streaked cone of Ol Doinyo Lengai rising beyond the shallow soda flats and channels of Lake Natron
    Lake Natron

    Northern Circuit

    The most important breeding site in the region and the place where the largest concentrations occur, though access to nesting areas is restricted.

  • A dirt safari track leading towards the shore of Lake Manyara, with the Rift Valley escarpment behind
    Lake Manyara National Park

    Northern Circuit

    Flamingos gather on the lake shore in varying numbers depending on water level, sometimes as a distant pink line, sometimes close in.

  • Green crater floor and a winding lake beneath the forested, cloud-topped rim of the Ngorongoro Crater
    Ngorongoro Conservation Area

    Northern Circuit

    Lake Magadi on the crater floor often holds flamingos, easily seen on a standard crater game drive.

  • Open green meadow with flat-topped trees and grazing animals below wooded hills in Arusha National Park
    Arusha National Park

    Northern Circuit

    The Momella Lakes are alkaline and hold flamingos and many water birds, viewable on a short day trip from Arusha or by canoe where operating.

  • Two Hadzabe hunters walking home with their dogs across dry bush country near Lake Eyasi
    Lake Eyasi

    Northern Circuit

    A seasonal soda lake that can hold good numbers after rain and may be almost dry at other times.

The ash-streaked cone of Ol Doinyo Lengai rising beyond the shallow soda flats and channels of Lake Natron
A dirt safari track leading towards the shore of Lake Manyara, with the Rift Valley escarpment behind

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