Longleat Safari Park staff had their feathers ruffled after 19 chicks were hatched in two weeks.

The Chilean flamingoes have produced 12 chicks while ostrich mum and dad Gavin and Stacey have successfully hatched out four chicks.

The remaining three chicks are down to the Sacred Ibis, who share their aviary with the flamingoes at the park near Warminster.

Deputy head warden Ian Turner said “It’s been a bit of a bumper crop of chicks this year, to the delight of staff and visitors alike. The flamingoes are at that ridiculously cute stage where they’re little balls of grey fluff with long legs.

“Their legs will continue to grow over the next few weeks and then they’ll go through a slightly oddball of fluff on stilts stage. The pink colouration will not normally come into the feathers until they’re about three years of age.

“The flamingo chicks do seem to be hanging around together at the moment. They range from only a few days to a few weeks old so they are currently all shapes and sizes.

“This doesn’t seem to stop the youngest though, maybe it’s a bit of gang mentality but the smallest seem to be just as cheeky as the older ones.”

In the East African Reserve staff are celebrating the first chicks to be hatched by the ostrich pair Gavin and Stacey.

Head of section Andy Hayton said: “This is the first clutch of eggs for Gavin and Stacey and all are doing amazingly well. The chicks definitely know what they want, which unfortunately at present is either the camouflage of the long grass or the shade on the underside of visitor’s cars.

“We’ve had to put signs up to warn visitors of the potential hideaways as we don’t imagine they’d think of looking under their cars before driving off.”

This is the second year of successful hatchings for the flamingoes and the first for the new ostrich pair. Longleat is now recognised as one of the leading parks in the UK for breeding Pink Backed Pelicans.