The avian species characterized by their unique pink plumage were first observed in Florida along the eastern and western coastlines, as well as the northern Gulf Coast, during the occurrence of Hurricane Idalia. By the third day following the occurrence of landfall, observations of flamingos were documented in many states including Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Two flamingos were spotted in Caesars creek state Park. (Source: Jacob Roalef Birding Ecotours/USA Today)
Several Flamingos were Seen After the Hurricane Idalia
By Saturday afternoon, birdwatchers and ornithologists had counted over 150 flamingos in four days. Jeff Bouton, Kowa Sporting Optics’ sales and marketing manager for the birding and wildlife sectors in the Americas, was one of the first to report more than 70 birds in Florida. The flamingos caused a stir in the birding community as birders shared sightings on social media and traveled across six states to see the lanky, pink-wading birds.
A South Florida birder photographed bird bands on a flamingo’s legs in the Florida Keys this week. Several birders believed the band was from Mexico’s Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula. However, Audubon Florida state director of research Jerry Lorenz said Sunday that hasn’t been proven. A few wild flamingos sighted in Florida were also from Yucatan. The gangly birds are 47-55 inches tall. Like many wading birds, they were destroyed by the plume trade in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Florida, but have been sighted more commonly in recent decades.
READ ALSO: Category 3 Hurricane Idalia Landfalls at the Florida Gulf Coast
Hurricane Idalia Winds Help Bird Lovers Get Record Sighting
After securing his home and assuming Hurricane Idalia’s worst was over, Bouton went hunting for strange birds that may arrive with the hurricane’s strong offshore winds and squall lines. Bouton noted on Facebook that it’s “a perfect scenario” for birders. You’ll “get wet and battered by strong winds & your gear and lenses will get covered by salt spray generated by powerful surf.”
Jeff Fisher, Bouton’s birding buddy, expected to see a plastic lawn ornament splash into the mangroves. Instead, Bouton swung his telescope and mounted his phone for photos. He photographed his 683rd bird species this year, but Charlotte County had never seen a flamingo. Some bird biologists have several theories concerning their locations. Lorenz: “They came in on the storm, whether they wanted to or not.”
Birds have been seen in storm calm centers. Bill Pranty, an avid birder and co-author of a 2007 research paper on a northeast Florida flamingo sighting, said birds try to fly around the storm and get diverted or catch up with outer bands and ride them until they reach land or drop into the ocean. He believed the birds entered the U.S. during Hurricane Idalia’s counter-clockwise rain bands as it traveled north from the Yucatan.
Pranty predicted that birds with muscle structure for prolonged flight may have flown 500 miles to Tampa Bay in eight hours at 15 mph and 50-60 mph tailwinds. Friday morning, George Keller went to check for birds in Caesar Creek State Park in Waynesville, Ohio, after failing to find monarch butterflies. He walked over when park personnel was looking at something. Wait, those are flamingos. Why are flamingos here?” He said the entomology student and bird watcher heard about the Florida occurrences but never expected to see them in Ohio. “Just crazy.” He grabbed his trusty Canon camera and “started taking pictures like crazy,” knowing he had to preserve the avian sighting.
Lorenz said flamingos may return to their colonies. Or they could stay in Florida. “That’s what we’re hoping they’ll do,” Lorenz said, to reestablish wild flamingo breeding. Could happen. Avian conservation scientist Ken Rosenberg, retired from Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, said these long-lived birds may start a new nesting colony in a suitable location. That’d be cool.”
READ ALSO: Several Dogs Died in a Dog Daycare Washington Due to Severe Flood
