Flamingos First Sighting on Lake Michigan Draws 75 Birdwatchers, Experts Credit Winds of Hurricane Idalia

When flamingos were first spotted in the state after Hurricane Idalia, about 75 birdwatchers flocked to Lake Michigan.

First Sighting: Flamingos on Lake Michigan

A large crowd of people gathered to watch five flamingos wade along a Lake Michigan beach in Wisconsin. They were curious to see the strange visitors going far from their regular tropical setting.

The American flamingos that were observed Friday at Port Washington, about 25 miles north of Milwaukee, were the first sighting of the species in Wisconsin state history, according to Mark Korducki, a Wisconsin Society for Ornithology member.

The birds watched the water lap against their slender legs as they stood motionless 25 feet off the western shore of Lake Michigan. Two were young birds wearing gray clothing, while three were adults distinguished by their pink plumage.

Following word of the flamingos' appearance on the city's South Beach spreading on social media, Jim Edelhuber of Waukesha joined a group of about 75 bird lovers there.

Avid bird watcher and photographer Edelhuber continued by describing the situation as huge and unbelievable.

Hurricane Idalia Winds

Because of recent sightings of flamingos in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the encounter was unexpected but not entirely shocking, according to Ryan Brady, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist.

Wildlife experts theorized that Hurricane Idalia's powerful winds in late August caused the flamingos to be driven north.

As September got underway, reports and images of flamingo flocks appeared across the US.

There is no possible chance that the flamingos aren't storm birds, according to Keith Laakkonen, director of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida. Laakonen says the issue is whether the birds originated in Mexico or Cuba. The Yucatan Peninsula has healthy populations of these birds, many of which were young birds. Therefore, these birds come from a population that breeds.

Flamingos

Flamingos often inhabit brackish or shallow saltwater environments where saltwater and freshwater mix. However, some flamingo species, reproduce and raise their offspring in highly salty bodies of water, also known as alkaline or "soda" lakes. The water in these lakes is inhospitable for most creatures due to the high concentration of corrosive carbonate salts that can burn the skin.

The peculiar features of a flamingo's physiology that enable it to endure such corrosive waters, such as its strong leg skin, are still being discovered by scientists. For some flamingo chicks, the high salt concentration can still be fatal if salt rings accumulate on their legs and render them unable to move.

Hurricane Idalia

The ninth tropical storm of the 2023 hurricane season, Tropical Storm Idalia, was first tracked by the National Weather Services on August 27, 2023. Idalia was already a potential hurricane on August 28 with a projected path that would severely damage northern Florida and Georgia. Communities along its path took notice and started making extensive local preparations.

In addition to the extensive property destruction brought on by a hurricane or tropical storm, Idalia is said to have killed two individuals in Florida.