BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Birders take note. Some rare wild flamingos have been spotted along Florida’s southwest coast.
The Fort Myers News-Press reports that birders have spotted several of the wild-born birds around Lee County in the past week.
Lee County Bird Patrol volunteer Gayle Sheets says nine flamingos were spotted flying past Barefoot Beach near Bonita Springs last week. The group monitors birds in Lee County.
Naturalist Vince McGrath told the newspaper that a group of elementary school students on a field trip last week watched a lone flamingo preening in the shallow water before taking flight last week. That bird had only faint traces of pink, leading McGrath to think it’s a young bird.
He says spotting the wild bird in southwest Florida is a rare treat.
