Flamingos are heading to Cumbria.

More than 40 greater flamingos are preparing to set up home at the Lake District Wildlife Park at Bassenthwaite, near Keswick.

Park bosses are working with the Martin Mere Wetland Centre, run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, to bring the pink birds to Cumbria.

The birds will head north from their current home in Lancashire in the spring to create a satellite breeding group at the park.

The move is part of a joint plan with Martin Mere to help protect the distinctive long-legged birds by spreading the population across different sites.

And bosses hope that having flamingos across more locations will help to inspire a young generation of conservationists.

Greater flamingos are around 1.5m tall and are native to southern Europe, central Asia, north-west India and southern Africa.

Social birds, they often mate for life and parade around in animated breeding displays whilst stretching their long necks, flapping their wings and ‘honking’ loudly.

Lake District Wildlife Park staff have taken specialist advice from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust to design and build a bespoke enclosure for the flamingos.

Park manager Richard Robinson said: “We’re excited to be welcoming a new colony of flamingos here to Cumbria.

"The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is one of the leading flamingo breeders in the UK and we have been working with them for a long time now to fully understand and adopt the very best practices for rearing and caring for flamingos.

“The Lake District Wildlife Park is probably better known for its owls and birds of prey, but these colourful flamingos will be a great addition and underline our long-term commitment to supporting awareness-raising and conservation of these popular birds.”

Steve Nasir, grounds manager at Martin Mere, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with the Lake District Wildlife Park. The greater flamingos at Martin Mere are a firm favourite with visitors and staff and we hope that by introducing this beautiful species to other sites, they’ll inspire a new generation of conservationists.”

The flamingos are expected to arrive at the Lake District Wildlife Park by Easter.