Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2829
September 7, 2023- September 13, 2023
Flamin-GONE with the Wind With classes starting the following week, Eckerd College Environmental Studies professor Beth Forys knew she should be prepping syllabi. But the buzz from local birders was too good to ignore. A flock of American flamingos, most likely driven from their Caribbean home by Hurricane Idalia, had been spotted on the beach at Treasure Island. The ornithologist grabbed her camera and hit the road. Beaches in Bloom Though closely associated with Florida – from the famous flamboyance at the Sunken Gardens to Gulfport’s own Funky Flamingo market – wild flamingos are not common here, especially outside of the Everglades. But Idalia’s burgeoning winds appear to have scattered small groups, most likely originating from the Yucatan or Cuba, across the Gulf Coast. The first sightings, according to Forys, occurred along the Sanibel Causeway. Flamingos have recently appeared as far north as St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Wakulla County. The group Forys observed on Trea-
BETH FORYS
By Amanda Hagood
A flock of 15 flamingos came to Treasure Island in the wake of Hurricane Idalia.
sure Island consisted of 10 adults and five juveniles — quite likely, she says, a group of parents and their offspring. “It was the first time I’d seen a
whole flock,” she says. Though there were many observers like her on the beach, she notes, everyone treated the avian visitors with respect. Flamingone continued on page 12
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