Al Wathba Wetland Reserve
Accidental desert lake fed by treated wastewater, now a breeding ground for thousands of wild flamingos.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Al Wathba Wetland Reserve outside Abu Dhabi starts with a biologist checking an insect trap before dawn and a fly that matches nothing in the reference books. It traces how a leaking sewage pipe accidentally created this desert lake, how brine shrimp and then flamingos moved in around 1993, and how routine surveys later turned up creatures new to science entirely. From the hide, look past the pink drifts of flamingos toward the reeds at the water's margin.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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