While conducting an aerial survey of birds over Florida Bay, surveyors stumbled upon a stunning albeit accidental surprise.
The helicopter pilot pointed out what Mark Ian Cook, a wildlife photographer, thought was a flock of roseate spoonbills, a common breed in the Sunshine State.
However, as Phys.org shared, the pair realized that they were actually tracking a flock of American flamingos. Cook counted 115 flamingos, the largest flock seen in the area since 2014.
They didn't stay in sight for long, Cook explained. "It's almost impossible not to spook a large group of flamingos from a helicopter and they rapidly took flight," he said.
However, he was able to capture several stunning images of the flock, which were posted on social media.
The flamingo is, in the words of Zoo Miami, "a cultural icon of Florida," and some want it to supplant the mockingbird as the state's official bird.
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Florida is the only state where flamingos appear, but they are no longer permanent residents. Once plentiful in Florida, they were hunted to extinction by the late 19th century. They are still common across the Caribbean and Central America, but they no longer nest in the United States. Conservation efforts seek to change that.
If the flamingo does return to nesting in Florida, it will bring some major ecological benefits through its seemingly weird dietary habits. Flamingos use their specially adapted bills to filter mud and water from the invertebrates they feast upon. This practice cycles nutrients and oxygenates the water. They are born gray but gradually become their flamboyant adult selves through their food sources.
The flamingo's legs are specially adapted to tolerating saline levels that would kill most other species. In Tanzania's Lake Natron, where the salt is so high it would be like wading through bleach, the birds are protected from predators. Around 75% of all lesser flamingos are born there, per Smithsonian Magazine.
The increased flocks are a hopeful sign that with awareness and community-based actions, the iconic birds might someday call Florida home year-round again.
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The executive director of Audubon Florida, Julie Wraithmell, told the Orlando Sentinel, "We are all eagerly waiting and hoping that's going to happen."
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