Largest flock of flamingos in recent memory spotted in South Florida

Flamingo sightings across Midwest, Mid-Atlantic after Hurricane Idalia

Flamingos were displaced by Hurricane Idalia and have been spotted in Florida, Wisconsin and Ohio after the storm. Audubon Florida Executive Director Julie Wraithmell explains how Idalia likely carried the pink birds throughout the U.S. 

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. - Staff with the South Florida Water Management District report recently spotting around 125 American flamingos around the Everglades, marking the largest flock seen in South Florida in at least the last decade.

Photos released by the agency show the pink specimens wading through the water and flying high above the swamplands of the Sunshine State.

While the bird is considered to be native to Florida, its population decreased to alarmingly low levels during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, due to hunting, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Over recent decades, the population is thought to be increasing, which has been aided by habitat protection and public awareness.

"On Wednesdays, we wear pink… or in this case we spot beautiful pink flamingos," staff noted on its social media post about the flock.

RARE FLAMINGO SIGHTINGS ACROSS US LIKELY A RESULT OF IMPACTS OF HURRICANE IDALIA, EXPERTS SAY

Flamingos remain more common elsewhere around the Caribbean and particularly in Cuba, which hosts one of the colonies of American flamingos in the Western Hemisphere.

Officials with the SFWMD did not state why the recent spotting was made possible, but some regions of the U.S., particularly in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, have reported increased sightings, especially after large hurricanes in the Gulf and the Caribbean. 

After Hurricane Idalia in 2023, flamingos were observed not only throughout Florida but as far west as Texas and as far north as Wisconsin.

At the time, wildlife experts believed gusty winds disrupted flocks in Mexico and Cuba, sweeping some birds hundreds and even thousands of miles off course.

Flamingos, blown off course by Hurricane Idalia, rescued

Several flamingos were swept up in Hurricane Idalia while migrating between Mexico and Cuba. Stunned Tampa Bay rescuers captured one they named Peaches and are nursing him back to health.

DID THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPTURE A PHOTO OF BIGFOOT DURING A PENNSYLVANIA STORM SURVEY?

According to FWC, the American flamingo is one of the largest species of flamingo and averages some 5 feet tall. 

The species is largely considered to be non-migratory but can fly large distances in search of food and a suitable habitat.

A survey conducted in 2024 spotted only around 100 flamingos in the wild around Florida, with many more being housed at zoos and on conservations lands.

"In Florida, American flamingos have been observed along much of the state’s coast; however, outside of Hialeah, more than 95% of observations have occurred within the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys. In addition, flamingos are increasingly being reported in the shallow treatment wetlands created along the northern fringe of the Everglades," the FWC stated.