Frequently asked questions
–
Sponsorship / My flamingo
Your adoption will contribute directly to the study and protection of Pink Flamingos by funding population monitoring activities and the purchase of equipment needed by bird observers in North Africa and West Africa, and the Middle East.
For example, the purchase of a telescope enables us to observe and record the rings we see much more precisely than with a simple pair of binoculars (from up to 300m versus 50m for binoculars).
When you subscribe to a sponsorship, you can follow your flamingo for one year. A few days before the end of your sponsorship, we will send you a message to inform you and offer you the chance to continue the adventure with us.
It depends on the offer you’ve chosen. If you’ve sponsored a mascot, everything is gathered in “your space” on our website. The “family” and “ideal flamingo” offers include physical materials that will be sent to you, as well as the opportunity to participate in special activities. For more details on each offer, visit the concept page: https://monflamant.com/en/the-concept/
Be sure that you are receiving our e-mails. You can do this by searching in your mailbox for the Flamingo Gazette we send you on a regular basis. If you don’t find any e-mails from us, please send us a message at [email protected]. It could be that your flamingo has not been seen for a long time. Our teams have selected birds that are not bashful, but there may not be very many observers where they are sojourning.
This option must be selected for any new adoption. If it was not selected, you can start receiving it by going to your private space in ‘My account settings,’ then ‘account details,’ and checking the box ‘receive the Gazette.’ Remember to save the modifications you make before leaving.
Pink Flamingos can be seen all over the Camargue, so you can see them in all of its lagoons and marshes. However, some local organisations can help you observe them better or learn more about these magnificent birds. For example, the Bureau des Guides Naturalistes (nature guides office) proposes guided visits (by reservation 06 95 90 70 48 or www.guide-nature.fr) and the Pont de Gau Ornithological Park are the best places to contact if you really want to learn more about flamingos. Several flamingos in the Camargue family are regularly observed at the Pont de Gau Park.
Many books have already been written about Pink Flamingos. The Tour du Valat has also published a booklet on flamingos that you can download here.
–
Give a sponsorship
You can offer a sponsorship by selecting this option when placing your order. You just need to create a beneficiary for the flamingo by entering their name and contact details.
The entire process is explained in our tutorial, which you can download: “How to offer a flamingo to a loved one?”
The beneficiary will receive an automatic message to let them know they are now the proud sponsor of a flamingo. You can choose the send date to keep it a surprise until the day of your choice.
Once your order is confirmed, with the gift delivery date set to December 25th and payment completed, you will receive a sponsorship certificate via email in the name of the person to whom you are offering the sponsorship. You can also download it from your customer area in the “My godchildren” section. Simply select “view file” / “My documents” tab / click on “My sponsorship certificate” and then print it or send it by email to the person receiving the sponsorship as a Christmas gift. Additionally, the recipient will receive an email on December 25th informing them of your gesture.
–
PAYMENT AND TAX REDUCTION
All of our adoption plans as well as any donations you make are eligible for a 66%* tax credit of the total amount within the limit of 20% of your taxable net income (art. 200 in the French tax system).
*These tax incentives are only for French taxpayers.
Your tax receipt can be downloaded in your personal space.
We offer several payment methods. Using a credit card or PayPal allows you to order a flamingo instantly. You can also pay by check, and your order will be confirmed on the day our services receive the check. Lastly, if you want to support us over the long term, you can request a payment plan spread over several years. In this case, your order will also need a few days before it’s validated.
Contact us to [email protected]
Once you’ve given your flamingo a name and selected all your preferred criteria, our team starts working to find your ideal flamingo. This process can take us several days. As soon as we’ve assigned you a flamingo, you will have access to its full profile in your personal space.
Unfortunatly, some years are not available due to several factors. The most recent years (2018-2024) are not available because some of the chicks do not reach adulthood. We don’t offer 2002, 2007, 2016 & 2019 because any ringing were organize those years. Finally, it’s possible that every flamingo of a given have already been assigned to other sponsors.
Follow this link to find all the instructions (french version only).
–
READ MORE ABOUT THE TOUR DU VALAT
The Tour du Valat is a research institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands that was founded by Luc Hoffmann over 65 years ago.
Located in the heart of the Camargue on a 2700-hectare estate (1,845 of which are a Regional Nature Reserve) its activities extend throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Convinced that endangered wetlands can only be saved if human activities and nature protection go hand in hand, it has been developing research and integrated management programmes for decades to foster discussion between users and scientists, mobilise a community of stakeholders, and lobby decision-makers in order to raise their awareness about the benefits provided by wetlands.
The Tour du Valat has about eighty employees. Its multidisciplinary science team, with fifty experts (in ornithology, botany, hydrology, geomatics, the human sciences and more), develops research programmes on the functioning of wetlands, and tests out different management regimes. Our findings are transferred through training and the innovative projects we conduct with our more than 300 partners! We started our flamingo research programme in 1977.
The Tour du Valat also has a document resource center that is unique in the Mediterranean region. Specialized in wetlands ecology, every year a great number of researchers, professors, and interns from around the Mediterranean Basin come to consult the materials available in it.
The Tour du Valat is a research institute intended especially for research scientists, academics, and nature site managers, but not the general public. Fortunately, you can visit it several times a year at its special events:
- Our ‘Open Day’ event, usually the Sunday closest to 2 February, for World Wetlands Day;
- The Camargue festival in early May;
- The paid guided visits proposed from November to April in partnership with the local nature guides office (by reservation 06 95 90 70 48 or www.guide-nature.fr).
To be informed about all the events for the general public, please fill out the form on this web page.