Local ornithologist Beth Forys snapped this photo while observing a flock of 15 flamingos that came to Treasure Island in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. Flamingos have been sighted along the Gulf coast from Sanibel to St. Marks. Pictured: two adult flamingos with their chick.Beth Forys
With classes starting the following week, Eckerd College Environmental Studies professor Beth Forys knew she should be prepping syllabi. But the buzz from local birders was too good to ignore. A flock of American flamingos, most likely driven from their Caribbean home by Hurricane Idalia, had been spotted on the beach at Treasure Island. The ornithologist grabbed her camera and hit the road.
Beaches in Bloom
Though closely associated with Florida – from the famous flamboyance at the Sunken Gardens to Gulfport’s own Funky Flamingo market – wild flamingos are not common here, especially outside of the Everglades. But Idalia’s burgeoning winds appear to have scattered small groups, most likely originating from the Yucatan or Cuba, across the Gulf Coast. The first sightings, according to Forys, occurred along the Sanibel Causeway. Flamingos have recently appeared as far north as St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Wakulla County.
The group Forys observed on Treasure Island consisted of 10 adults and five juveniles — quite likely, she says, a group of parents and their offspring.
“It was the first time I’d seen a whole flock,” she says. Though there were many observers like her on the beach, she notes, everyone treated the avian visitors with respect.
Shelter from the Storm
But how does a bird survive a brush with a tropical cyclone? And equally important, how will these winged wanderers get home?
As Forys points out, flamingos can fly up to 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) a day in search of food. The gathering winds may have provided a little extra oomph to a group that was already on an overseas journey. While their typical habitat is alkaline or saline lakes or estuarine lagoons, their variable diet allows them to “recharge” in a variety of locations. That includes the surf along Treasure Island, which is where she found them.
Forys suspects the group she saw is simply pausing, regaining strength for a long return journey.
Call it a layover.
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Pinky and the Pelicans
These birds would not be the first flamingos driven northward by a storm. In 2018, a single bird — dubbed “Pinky” — blew into St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the winds of Hurricane Michael. Five years later, Pinky continues to fly off in summer, returning to overwinter at the Refuge — a true snowbird.
Traveling hundreds of miles from a new location to return home may seem like a daunting prospect. But, Forys says, some birds have been known to do it. She recalls a group of Louisiana pelicans injured in the Deepwater Horizon spill. After transporting the birds to the Tampa Bay Area for rehabilitation, scientist banded them in hopes of keeping track of their movements — and were surprised to discover they headed straight home.
Time will tell how these stranded birds respond to their displacement, a feeling many hurricane evacuees can surely sympathize with.
But for now, here’s wishing these extraordinary travelers a restful visit.
Bird is the word! Read more shoreline stories about other feathered friends.
