Past, Present and Future of American Flamingos in Florida by Steven Whitfield

Dr. Steven Whitfield, Director of Terrestrial and Wetlands Conservation at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans, is a conservation biologist, formerly with Zoo Miami.

For years ornithologists and wildlife biologists had been trying to determine if wild flamingo sightings were the product of escapes or are flamingos attempting to renaturalize their historic range.

Then in 2015, three flamingos showed up at Florida's Naval Air Station Key West. One, named Conchy, wouldn't leave. The Miami Zoo put a satellite tracker on one leg and a band on the other. But when it came time to release him, the state asked: Did Conchy even belong here? Were flamingos really native to Florida? This began Dr. Whitfield's deep dive into the flamingo story.

His presentation reviews the history of this species through the 19th century, as noted by early naturalists visiting south Florida and how they disappeared through the 20th century.

This past September, Hurricane Idalia flung flamingos into many parts of Florida and farther North. A proposal is now before the Florida legislature to make the flamingo our state bird.

Dr. Whitfield can be contacted at [email protected].

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American Flamingos at Fort DeSoto Park. Photo: Alex DeBear