Flamingo numbers fluctuate, particularly from November onwards when birds arrive from elsewhere (probably East Africa) to breed in Sua Pan or Etosha Pan. We set out to gauge just how many birds occur in southern Africa at such times, by organising a survey in March 1999 covering the main areas where large numbers congregate each year. This process was aided by the presence of on-going research at Sua Pan by G. McCulloch, who determines flamingo numbers by aerial photography over the pan, and a network of Namibian and South African counters (acknowledged below).