Flamingos
Flamingo Gardens Wildlife Sanctuary
Hundreds of thousands of American Flamingos used to visit the coastal areas of Florida in the 1800s. They were eradicated completely from the area due to egg and feather hunting over the last century. However, they were sighted again a few years ago in the Everglades National Park at a stormwater water treatment facility. They are now returning regularly, however due to the popularity of the bird with birdwatchers, the National Park Service closed the area to the general public and handed it over to the Audubon Society to control access. They run trips to the area, 147 Flamingos were counted in 2014 but only 8 in 2015. It’s still not known whether the Flamingos began life as wild birds or are escapees from captivity. The Audubon trips are highly oversubscribed so we weren’t able to join one.
Tree huggers Jeff and Stacey with Cheryl
So, there were no Flamingos at the Everglades Flamingo Park where we stayed a few days. However we found a Wildlife Sanctuary in Davie, Florida that provides a safe habitat for many birds and some animals that had been damaged or rescued from other less hospitable facilities. There were also beautiful gardens, many exotic varieties of trees shrubs and flowers. We stayed almost a whole day at the Sanctuary with our ‘snowbird’ friends Jeff and Stacey Smith. There were plenty of Flamingos there, as well as some other beautiful species, as you will see below.
Click on any thumbnail below to see full-size gallery.
-
- American Flamingo
-
- Duet
-
- A dispute
-
- Roseate Spoonbill
-
- Wood Stork
-
- White Pelican (rude variety)
-
- Brown Pelican
-
- White Ibis
-
- White Heron
-
- Black Crowned Night Heron
-
- Green Heron
-
- Tree huggers
-
- Night Heron (immature)
-
- Wood Duck
-
- Bald Eagle
-
- Golden Eagle
-
- Osprey
-
- Harris’ Hawk
-
- Crested Caracara
-
- Horned Owl
-
- Barred Owl
-
- Barn Owl
-
- Eastern Screech Owl (tiny)
-
- Really… it won’t bite?
-
- Nice…
-
- Want a date?
-
- Two peacocks?
-
- Orchid
-
- Colin, Stacey, Cheryl, and Jeff
Thank you Stacey for your Fighting Flamingo Movie!
Click on map below to see larger version
Flamingo Wildlife Sanctuary, Davie, Florida
More amazing photos! The bird ones were delightful, but I think my favorite is the one of the kid in the stroller curious about the snake. An unusual take on man vs. serpent!
From Cheryl: While Colin was taking a photo of the child and the snake, I was observing the Mother – and the fact that she wasn’t screaming impressed me.
I was able to witness thousands of flamingos at a lake in Kenya back in 1984. I have read since then the flock is considerably smaller 🙁 Such a shame. Love your photos and stories.
From Cheryl: Dear Eileen, so happy you like the stories and photos. It is more than sad that the flock you saw in Kenya has been so diminished. We can hope that research and refuge areas will continue to help repopulate these special creatures.
What a great adventure you two are having! It’s obvious that a lot of planning has gone into this. If anyone wants to get a taste of what Florida is about, your blog tells the story through beautiful pictures.
From Cheryl: Thank you very much for your lovely comments. It’s true that many of our friends have already visited Florida, but hopefully we have given a slightly different take on some of the attractions.
Love your photos and your captions. Jeff the tree hugger. Hugs!
From Cheryl: Another Tree Hugger! We love it. So glad you could finally see yourselves and the Flamingos! Love to you and Stacey.