The unique pink flamingos that have chosen the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park for nesting in recent years were recently forced to leave their chosen area due to noisy tourists. This was reported by park employee Ivan Rusev.

According to the ecologist, upon returning in April from their wintering grounds, the flamingos selected what seemed to be a safe area on the sandy spit between the Budura and Shagany lagoons. However, Rusev noted that close to this nesting site lies an old recreational area for residents of the Diviziya community. He mentioned that despite the sounds of war, the flamingos held their ground for a while, but after the locals’ “booze-fueled ‘greenday’,” the birds vacated their chosen spot. They are now wandering the Tuzly Lagoons in search of a more reliable refuge. Rusev added that authorities are currently seeking individuals who violate the national park's protection regime and are preparing a reliable and mobile protection point for flamingo nesting sites in 2025.

The park director, Iryna Vykhrystiuk, confirmed that flamingos are very sensitive to disturbances. Although during wartime the main sources of worry are shelling and drone noise, park staff encounter the issue every year that people cause changes in birds’ nesting areas.

The nesting history of flamingos in Odesa has its peculiarities. They first built nests in the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district in 2023, where about 200 nests were recorded near the village of Bazar’yanka. According to Iryna Vykhrystiuk, flamingos often choose sites close to where people gather. At that time, traces of people, dogs, and even vehicle tracks were found on the nests, prompting the birds to leave. However, they found another area further away from humans, successfully rearing chicks, some of which were ringed.