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Posted by Bob Showler on 16:18:33 05/21/06
In Reply to: Re: 11 Flamingoes over Miami on Sat (5/13/06) posted by Rock Jetty
During the past year I've done a considerable amount of research on the history of Caribbean Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) in Florida. In fact, I presented a program called "Florida's Forgotten Flock" on the subject for the SW Florida Birding Festival in Naples in January.
Here's what we do and don't know...
Over 100 years ago they appeared in the Snake Bight/Garfield Bight area of Florida Bay in large flocks, of up to 1000 (one observer estimated 2500). They were reported throughout much of the year (not just winter, as some have claimed). Last big flock was reported there in 1902.
It was believed these birds nested on Andros Island (Bahamas) and migrated here after the nesting period.
Good evidence exists that they also nested in Florida, especially in the Lower Keys, probably in low numbers.
They were heavily hunted (in Florida Bay and the Caribbean) during the 19th & early 20th centuries, not for their plumes, but for their meat and eggs.
Flamingo conservation in Florida was considered a real issue around the turn of the century, and was, in fact, addressed at the very first meeting of the newly-formed National Audubon Society in 1905. For reasons that I don't understand, they no longer seem to be considered a conservation issue by today's ornithological community.
The Caribbean Flamingo population was nearly wiped out by the 1950's. They had completely stopped nesting on Andros Island, and the only significant breeding colony known to survive was on Great Inagua in the southern Bahamas. Flamingo researcher Robert Porter Allen estimated a total Caribbean population of just 21,000 birds during that time.
In 1931, about a dozen birds were introduced at Hialeah Racetrack, where they bred successfully to a peak of about 800 in the 1970's. Current population (as of winter, 2005) at Hialeah numbers 374. While these birds are perfectly capable of flight, Hialeah's flamingo curator claims they DO NOT leave the racetrack (although the former curator believed they DID...about 20-30 each fall).
Meanwhile, the wild population of Caribbean Flamingos has rebounded considerably. According to the Flamingo Specialist Group (an international organization dedicated to flamingo research), the current population estimate for this species is at over 300,000. There are large nesting colonies at Inagua, Cuba, Yucatan, Bonaire, and Venezuela (altough, for reasons not entirely understood, they haven't nested at Inagua during the past couple of years).
While we don't know where most of South Florida's current flamingo sightings originate (with the exception of that one bird from the Yucatan), we should not forget that flamingos were certainly once a natural part of Florida's avifauna, and may very well have nested here. Obviously South Florida provided (and probably still does provide) the proper feeding (and perhaps even nesting) habitat for these birds. As their populations rebound, the appearance of WILD birds in Florida should not be readily dismissed.
Bob Showler
Biscayne National Park
305-230-1144 Ext. 3078
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