Whenever you consider flamingos, the pictures that come to thoughts are most likely of African water holes, the Caribbean, Florida – or nearly anyplace else apart from Waynesville, Ohio.
So, when Jacob Roalef noticed Fb posts about flamingos at Ceasar Creek State Park, close to Dayton, final week, he rushed to see them for himself.
“I quickly grabbed my gear and told my wife and was out the door,” Roalef, who leads birdwatching excursions, informed CNN.
When he bought there, he noticed two birds – an grownup and a juvenile – within the lake.
“The flamingos were just hanging out and sleeping in about a foot of water near the shore,” Roalef stated. “They would wake up and drink some water or look up if a gull flew overheard.”
He stated the birds stayed there till about 6 p.m., when a canine scared them off.
Jerry Lorenz, the state director of analysis for Audubon Florida, says that since Hurricane Idalia blew via, they’ve gotten experiences of flamingos from round Florida, in addition to Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Kentucky and lots of different locations – and the sightings hold pouring in.
He speculates that the birds had been flying between Cuba and the Yucatan and bought diverted by the storm.
“It’s just really surprising that if you follow the path of Idalia, it (the sightings) really does kind of fall out to the north and south of that central track,” he stated.
Lorenz stated they’re nonetheless going via the info, so he doesn’t know what number of birds flew north due to the storm, nevertheless it’s much more than regular.
“We have never seen anything like this,” Lorenz stated. “We will get a flamingo or two following storms (but) this is really unprecedented.”
Boat captain Vinnie Fugett noticed a gaggle of 17 flamingos strolling within the surf and consuming on the seashore at Treasure Island, close to St. Petersburg, Florida.
The birds completed consuming and flew away round sundown.
“I’ve never seen a flamingo here after living here my entire life,” Fugett stated.
Lorenz urged folks to provide the flamingos plenty of area as a result of they’ve been via so much.
“These birds are stressed right now. They just went through a terrible ordeal no matter how you look at it,” he stated. “So don’t get close enough to startle them to frighten them or anything else, but enjoy their presence.”
Flamingos are native to Florida, however they had been hunted to close extinction close to the flip of the twentieth century for his or her stunning feathers, which had been utilized in hats and different trend.
The inhabitants has been rising worldwide, however many of the Florida flamingos had been believed to be descended from birds that escaped from varied animal sights.
Lately, scientists have seen flamingos which have flown right here from Cuba, Yucatan and the Bahamas.
Lorenz stated flamingos are able to flying hundreds of miles over open waters, so the Ohio birds shouldn’t have any bother flying dwelling when it will get too chilly for them.
He’s been working with a gaggle of consultants to revive the Everglades and the Florida Keys and create correct habitats the place flamingos can thrive.
“Perhaps these birds will feel more comfortable and, we will have a population again, and people will be able to come to South Florida and come to the Florida Keys and actually see flamingos in the wild,” he stated.
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