New flamingo chick at Paradise Park as Frankie’s trail goes quiet

A newly hatched flamingo chick is already peering out from beneath its mother’s wing, just feet from a visitor path.

Paradise Park has announced the hatching of a Caribbean Flamingo chick to parents Edwina and Anthony. The chick hatched overnight and by 7.30am on Thursday morning was already looking out from under its mum’s wing.

A close view from the path

The chick is being reared by its parents on their nest in the flamingo lagoon, in a spot Curator David Woolcock says gives visitors an unusually good look.

“This is wonderful news, the chick hatched overnight and by 7.30am on Thursday morning was already looking out from beneath its mum’s wing,” David said. “The chick is being reared by its parents on their nest in the flamingo lagoon, it’s just feet from a path with perfect viewing for visitors. Sometimes when Edwina or Anthony are sitting, the chick will be out of sight for a while but before long they stand and stretch or do a change over from one parent to the other.”

If things go to plan, the chick should build strength quickly. “If all goes well, the chick will develop quickly, gain strength in its legs and start to venture off the nest in a few days,” David added.

The parents feed a special high energy red liquid known as crop milk direct into the beak of the chick. This is crucial for the first weeks of the chick’s life before it transitions to eating adult food.

You can follow the chick’s progress on the park’s Flamingo Chick News blog page, which the team will update with photos, video and news. There is also a live webcam of the lagoon area so you can watch as the chick starts to leave the nest.

📷Credit: Paradise Park

Derek and Frankie’s parents

This is not Edwina and Anthony’s first chick. The new arrival is a sibling to Derek, who hatched and was hand-reared in 2019, and Frankie, who hatched in 2025 and was parent-reared.

“It feels special that Edwina and Anthony have another chick this year,” David said. “Derek was hand-reared and Frankie was parent-reared, now this new arrival gives visitors the wonderful opportunity to see the natural care and close bond between flamingo parents and their chick. We will, of course, do things a little differently to last year.”

📷Credit: Paradise Park

Where is Frankie now?

Frankie is the flamingo who flew to France, and the team says many people have asked how she is doing. They have been touched by the interest in her story.

The last confirmed sightings were in December in Finistère, France, showing she had travelled further south along the coast from where she was first spotted. There was then a possible sighting 10 days later of a juvenile Caribbean Flamingo at the Salt Museum, Salinas del Carmen, in Fuerteventura.

The park cannot say for certain it was her. The sighting was unusual enough that the people who spotted it researched the bird and made contact. The flamingo was only there for a short time, which raises the possibility it was Frankie resting during her travels before heading further afield.

The team hopes she has found a flock to join and is safe and well. Any further news on Frankie will be posted on the park’s flamingo updates page.

📷Credit: Paradise Park