Some good news comes from the world of flamingos. Their numbers in many different parts of the world, across all continents (except Antarctica and Australia), is rising. The 4th International Flamingo Symposium (10-15 November 2025), organised by the IUCN SSC Flamingo Specialist Group, and hosted by Ca’ Foscari University in Mestre brought together experts on many aspects ranging from behaviour and population dynamics to genetics and paleontology. We are here Venice presented a paper detailing restoration interventions on constructed wetlands and how the specific ecological features might be relevant to the life cycle of these fascinating birds.

Over the past 20 years their presence has increased in the lagoon but there is no evidence of flamingos breeding here. We are here Venice also collaborated with Venezia Birdwatching association and the Società Veneziana di Scienze Naturali on the annual Flamingo Census (9 December 2025) stretching from Friuli Venezia Giulia to Emilia Romagna. In and around the Venice lagoon, over 23,700 individuals were counted, significantly more than in 2024 and 2023 (less than 20,000).

Cover photo by Alessandro Sartori.