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Posted by Bob Showler on 16:55:34 09/27/07
In Reply to: Re: More Updates on Caribbean Flamingos posted by Rafael Galvez
I appreciate Rafael's comment re the lack of attention to Florida's flamingos as a conservation issue. During the early 1900's Florida's flamingos were considered a conservation issue, due to the disappearance of Florida Bay's large flocks (last big flock recorded in 1902). In fact, Daniel Beard, first superintendent of Everglades National Park, wrote at length about the pros and cons of re-introducing flamingos to Florida Bay in his 1938 publication entitled "Everglades National Park Project".
I also agree with Rafael's comments re current flamingo origins. I've been in contact with a flamingo researcher in the Bahamas, who reports that the Great Inagua birds (southern Bahamas) contract their range when nesting, but expand when they're not. It so happens that the birds weren't nesting during the pre-05 period when unusually large #'s were being seen in Florida Bay. During the past couple of years the birds have resumed nesting at Inagua, and the local sightings have dropped off. This is probably the case with other Caribbean breeding populations. Without substantial banding reports, however, this is more of a theory than a statement in fact.
A more important question, in my mind, re Florida's flamingos, is not where they're coming from today, but why aren't they considered a conservation issue, given their former abundance during the 1800's. Out of sight, out of mind?
Finally, if anyone wants to learn more about the history of flamingos in the state, I highly recommend finding a copy of Robert Porter Allen's 1956 Audubon report entitled "The Flamingos: Their Life History & Survival." If's full of fascinating information, including a 1957 account by Gustavus Wurdemann of a flamingo hunt in Florida Bay.
Good to see so much interest!
Bob Showler
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