On a recent visit to Larnaca Salt Lake, I was delighted to photograph the colony of flamingos wintering there. Parking facilities are found near the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, with paths around part of the lake. However, the flamingos were located mainly in the middle of the lake and this required a zoom lens. Make sure you have this feature on your camera if you want to take pictures.
The flamingos, which stop off in Cyprus along their migratory route from November to March, are the Greater Flamingo species, the largest of the world's six species. Many come from the islands of the wider Mediterranean region, including Turkey, Sardinia and Iran.
When flamingos are born, they are grey in colour. They turn pink from the high levels of beta carotene in their diet of brine shrimps, crustaceans and blue-green algae. Their bills are used upside down and are created to filter feed, i.e. to separate mud and silt from their food intake.
A valuable reminder from observing these magnificent creatures is: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!
This is true both physically and spiritually! While we should care for our bodies with proper nourishment and exercise, we also need to pay utmost attention to our spiritual diet.
Just as the depth of colour in the flamingos reflects the levels of beta carotene consumed, the depth of our Christian walk will manifest how much we have been feeding on the Word of God.
The Bible exhorts us:
... whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8