When folks visit South Florida, they expect to see flamingos. You see them in zoos, as well as other popular tourist attractions. Yet the local wild flamingos in Florida were wiped out by excessive hunting for their bright pink and crimson plumages, and by the 1990s, many believed them to be extinct in the Florida wild.
Either from birds escaping from captivity, or by flowing in from nearby Caribbean islands, the Florida flamingo population began a slow recovery. By 2014, there was a population of 147 flamingos in the STA2 water treatment facility in the Everglades just north and west of Parkland.
In a 2021 survey by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, up to 1,000 birds are estimated to be in Florida. Near Parkland, the local population typically visits the area in the spring, and most leave for an undisclosed location later in the year. Researchers are still studying their behavior to understand their travel patterns or whether they are local all year round, along with working to classify them as “threatened” to qualify for stronger protection.
The American flamingo is one of the largest flamingo species, and it can grow up to 57 inches, which makes them hard to study. Frank Ridgley, a wildlife veterinarian and researcher at the Zoo Miami, is quoted as saying in an interview with the Audubon Society, “There’s a reason why no one’s studied adult flamingos before. They just fly off.” One flamingo in the Keys was successfully tagged and tracked in 2018, and it was found to have joined a local flock and stayed in Florida.
Researchers have also been observing the wild flamingos, to learn what they are doing in the area. “We noticed a lot of courtship behavior,” Ridgley says. “All seemed to be pair bonded and stayed close together.” Flamingoes are believed to mate for life, and they stay close together.
The STA2 water treatment area access is restricted, so bird watchers are asked to join a tour approved by the water district.
Hopefully with continual recovery of the flamingos in the nearby Everglades, local residents can get a peek at the wondrous birds in the wild, not just at zoos or in reruns of “Miami Vice.”