![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y4CCAQAEQVFFDJ5FJDPD33HUJM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=b69950b5b899100bfabb1092ccb4532a151271b5f6078edfe80e5b495e1b078b&width=400&height=225)
Pink flamingos feed in a lake in Gammarth. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/X7PXMKGIS5FFVL4DZ2J5QLYV3I.jpg?smart=true&auth=087ac092d8fd2ba86cbdc15ee5940cbf5ce56a702d708c53df70866a7a114bc2&width=400&height=225)
Adult and juvenile greater flamingos feed in Tunisian waters over the winter before undertaking their migration to parts of the northern Mediterranean in the spring. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WSZSVPVDXBAFDDCC5DDQ6CBQVU.jpg?smart=true&auth=1a198bc7b7360bc43b3360773f97f4b779266ccc465ebcb069915318c9ab16a0&width=400&height=225)
The survey has produced one of the most complete pictures of global ecological change in recent decades. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UYZAFSCGCVCV5NVXF7H5NSB7DQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=462dec2f32deb41068b659a22c0453712ff120b28e6249296499df40bfcbb4a9&width=400&height=225)
More than 100 species of birds winter on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Tunisia’s salt marshes are particularly fertile feeding grounds for wading birds. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B7GRKIIGJVB4RN22QJMEHM73EY.jpg?smart=true&auth=ff592fed666c4f00e6295d3504bc7653c2490f12beb9dca948c1ac5e066a1c44&width=400&height=225)
About 380,000 waterfowl visit Tunisia every winter to feast on brine shrimp, insects, fish and other small organisms in the muddy marshes all along the country's coast. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/22B6KZNDUNFTPHQCIQXAP74CEA.jpg?smart=true&auth=d27415d37aef9e48826549da0a4eb012a49f99542e79dbdc73145f158330313f&width=400&height=225)
A marsh harrier searches for prey in the tall grass of one of Tunisia’s 'sebkhas', or salt lakes, as a group of flamingos forages on the muddy bottom. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/T2VR5NDSOFC77NACGMX6C7DF3A.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a608212f9c89486bbe3c98e95cff1ec1615496b8b8cff6d9dfb91f6615b2d94&width=400&height=225)
Census-takers track more than a hundred species of birds that winter in the wetlands of Tunisia. The National / Erin Clare Brown
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UIMRVYDKY5BEFI5LZRWXBTDIHQ.jpeg?smart=true&auth=f9008dc7ee2f3a1291bea4804bf8ff6d6ef52734388d77889f5f64f615452a04&width=400&height=225)
A flamingo flies over the Sijoumi mudflat on the southern outskirts of Tunisia's capital Tunis. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2TBQXFLV5ZEDPCDU6SV5G7UDBE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=b6068f0cb8c978efaa43e761181b06982674a708ca249ffbfbe9a95392a9512a&width=400&height=225)
Pink flamingos take off from a lake in Gammarth on the outskirts of Tunis. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y4CCAQAEQVFFDJ5FJDPD33HUJM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=b69950b5b899100bfabb1092ccb4532a151271b5f6078edfe80e5b495e1b078b&width=400&height=225)
Pink flamingos feed in a lake in Gammarth. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/X7PXMKGIS5FFVL4DZ2J5QLYV3I.jpg?smart=true&auth=087ac092d8fd2ba86cbdc15ee5940cbf5ce56a702d708c53df70866a7a114bc2&width=400&height=225)
Adult and juvenile greater flamingos feed in Tunisian waters over the winter before undertaking their migration to parts of the northern Mediterranean in the spring. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WSZSVPVDXBAFDDCC5DDQ6CBQVU.jpg?smart=true&auth=1a198bc7b7360bc43b3360773f97f4b779266ccc465ebcb069915318c9ab16a0&width=400&height=225)
The survey has produced one of the most complete pictures of global ecological change in recent decades. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UYZAFSCGCVCV5NVXF7H5NSB7DQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=462dec2f32deb41068b659a22c0453712ff120b28e6249296499df40bfcbb4a9&width=400&height=225)
More than 100 species of birds winter on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Tunisia’s salt marshes are particularly fertile feeding grounds for wading birds. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B7GRKIIGJVB4RN22QJMEHM73EY.jpg?smart=true&auth=ff592fed666c4f00e6295d3504bc7653c2490f12beb9dca948c1ac5e066a1c44&width=400&height=225)
About 380,000 waterfowl visit Tunisia every winter to feast on brine shrimp, insects, fish and other small organisms in the muddy marshes all along the country's coast. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/22B6KZNDUNFTPHQCIQXAP74CEA.jpg?smart=true&auth=d27415d37aef9e48826549da0a4eb012a49f99542e79dbdc73145f158330313f&width=400&height=225)
A marsh harrier searches for prey in the tall grass of one of Tunisia’s 'sebkhas', or salt lakes, as a group of flamingos forages on the muddy bottom. Photo: Hichem Azafzaf
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/T2VR5NDSOFC77NACGMX6C7DF3A.jpg?smart=true&auth=0a608212f9c89486bbe3c98e95cff1ec1615496b8b8cff6d9dfb91f6615b2d94&width=400&height=225)
Census-takers track more than a hundred species of birds that winter in the wetlands of Tunisia. The National / Erin Clare Brown
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UIMRVYDKY5BEFI5LZRWXBTDIHQ.jpeg?smart=true&auth=f9008dc7ee2f3a1291bea4804bf8ff6d6ef52734388d77889f5f64f615452a04&width=400&height=225)
A flamingo flies over the Sijoumi mudflat on the southern outskirts of Tunisia's capital Tunis. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2TBQXFLV5ZEDPCDU6SV5G7UDBE.jpeg?smart=true&auth=b6068f0cb8c978efaa43e761181b06982674a708ca249ffbfbe9a95392a9512a&width=400&height=225)
Pink flamingos take off from a lake in Gammarth on the outskirts of Tunis. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y4CCAQAEQVFFDJ5FJDPD33HUJM.jpeg?smart=true&auth=b69950b5b899100bfabb1092ccb4532a151271b5f6078edfe80e5b495e1b078b&width=400&height=225)
Pink flamingos feed in a lake in Gammarth. AFP