Tropical pink flamingos found on Outer Banks. How did they get to North Carolina?

A group of tropical flamingos has been seen on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, which is about 1,000 miles north of their usual habitat.

The National Audubon Society reported the discovery Monday, Sept. 4, and credited an astute photographer with recognizing the out-of-place birds at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is about 30 miles north of Cape Hatteras.

It’s suspected the large birds were carried to the island by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall Aug. 30 in the Florida Panhandle and moved northeast to the Outer Banks.

“The birds were indeed flamingos: eleven of them, three adults and eight immature birds feeding in the shallows,” the society said.

“In the past few days, individuals and small flocks have shown up in a growing list of states, which now includes Alabama and Tennessee. By one tally, more than 150 sightings have been recorded across the Southeast in the last four days.”

The grouping, known as a flamboyance, was documented Saturday, Sept. 2, by photographer Jeff Lewis, a birder who lives in Southern Shores.

Lewis says he was aware of reports flamingos were showing up in odd places, and he went to the refuge hoping to see at least one.

“About had a heart attack,” Lewis said. “When I first saw them, they were so far away that they were little more than a pink blur, but they were flying toward me and as they came into focus I almost fell out!

“As far as I know, these are the first wild flamingos ever seen in NC.”

He watched the birds for about three hours and “probably took close to 70 photos.” He also used his cell phone to spread news of the sighting, and was quickly joined by other bird lovers.

The flamingos were still there early Tuesday, Sept. 5, he said.

American flamingos average about 5 feet in height and are considered “non-migratory,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They are known to breed “in Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas,” the commission says.

The big question many are asking now is whether the birds can find their way home.

Idalia moved an “unprecedented” number of flamingos over a widespread area, the National Audubon Society reports. Sightings beyond Florida have included “Alabama, South and North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia,” as well as the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas, USA Today reports.

“As for the fate of the wayward birds, it’s anyone’s guess,” the society says.

This story was originally published September 5, 2023 at 7:20 AM with the headline "Tropical pink flamingos found on Outer Banks. How did they get to North Carolina?."