The largest group of American flamingos seen in Florida for over a decade was recorded later last week.
Wildlife and science photographer Mark Ian Cook posted on Facebook on June 27 that he saw a group of 115 flamingos along the coastline of Florida Bay in the Everglades.
Cook was involved in a survey of aerial birds via a helicopter in Florida Bay when the flamingos were first discovered. He said pilot James Davis “pointed to a large group of Rose Tea Spoonvilles in the distance, but this is not an unexpected sight in the area. Apart from a thorough examination, they realized that they were not spoonvilles, and are a group of 115 flamingos.”
Cook said it is the largest single herd recorded in Florida since 2014 when 147 flamingos were seen together in the Everglades water reserve.
“Unfortunately, it was almost impossible not to scare a large group of flamingos from helicopters, and they flew quickly,” he wrote. “However, after taking some images for science and having a group of fishermen on a flat boat, we were able to enjoy the incredible views as the birds surrounded the boat, we left the birds in peace to continue our investigation.”
Cook added that it appears that the group of around 30 flamingos seen in another part of the Everglades have moved before, and may have joined more than 100 bird groups.
Florida’s native flamingo population, believed to be thousands of people, was wiped out by hunters in the early 1900s in search of bird feathers and meat. Before 2023, there were few reports of flamingo sightings reported in the state.
That changed when Hurricane Idria created headlines by scattering flamingos from nesting sites in Mexico and elsewhere. Some decided to stay in Florida while many were flying home. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge group has lived there for over a year and a half.
Julie Raismell, executive director of Audubon, Florida, recently told the Orlando Sentinel that more flamingos have been seen in Florida, even in front of Idria.
“We were seeing more and more of their flocks, especially in the Everglades, so in the Florida Bay and the Water Conservation Area,” she said. “So we already know that there is an established movement in winter between Yucatan and the breeding regions of Cuba and South Florida.”
Flamingos are seen more, but none of them have been documented nested in Florida since the late 1800s or early 1900s.
“I think we’re all waiting enthusiastically and hope that happens,” she said. “And you know, you can still do that. But the first step is a bird that stays throughout the season and, so to speak, can make a living here.”
