In a feat attributed to the recent heat wave that swept across Europe, rare Andean flamingos at a wetlands reserve in Britain have laid eggs for the first time in 15 years.

The exotic birds are "fickle breeders" and can go years without nesting successfully, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, England, said in a statement this past week.

Unfortunately, none of the eggs were viable, but caretakers got the Andean flamingos into parenting mode with fostered chicks. Credit:Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

But amid scorching temperatures on the continent — which have spawned wildfires in England and Wales, melted glaciers in Austria and Sweden, and broken records in Portugal — a surprising thing happened at the reserve.

Six of the flock laid nine eggs, which Mark Roberts, the aviculture manager at the reserve, called "a wonderful and welcome surprise."