American Flamingo Visits Bunche Beach Preserve

A visiting birder and author from Ferguson, Missouri named Cornelius "Connie" Alwood was the first to report an American Flamingo to eBird that has favored Bunche Beach Preserve this past week in Fort Myers, Florida.

The American Flamingo above (image 1) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

Among Connie's other eBird reports of interest include a mid July 2015 nocturnal observation at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers where he noted a half dozen Mississippi Kites soaring out of sight, as well as a late November 2015 report from California Gulch, Arizona where he and a bird guide observed a Black-capped Gnatcatcher.

The mixed shorebirds above (image 2) were photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

Fort Myers News-Press photographer Andrew West at far right and Gail Campbell to his immediate right above (image 3) were photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

Possibly crossing paths with Connie at Bunche Beach Preserve on the morning of 21 January was local birding enthusiast and Bird Patrol volunteer, Gail Campbell who provided a notification to the SW Florida Bird Alert closed group Facebook webpage. Gail's report was much more timely allowing me to meet up with her and many others to see and photograph the flamingo in the mid-afternoon.

The American Flamingo above (image 4) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The Willet above (image 5) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

At the beginning of the 20th century, flamingos were virtually eradicated in Florida due to plume hunting and harvesting of their eggs. Flamingos typically lay only one egg in a nesting season. In 2008, the Caribbean population of Greater Flamingo was split by the American and British Ornithologists' Unions creating the American Flamingo.

The American Flamingo above (image 6) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo above (image 7) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo is the only flamingo species found in the wild in North America. The three other New World flamingos; Chilean Flamingo, James's Flamingo and Andean Flamingo may be found in South America. The Greater Flamingo and Lesser Flamingo are now considered Old World species. Flamingos can be very long lived with one captive bird (Greater Flamingo) reaching the age of 83 before its death.

The American Flamingo above (image 8) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo above (image 9) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The past decade has seen a resurgence of American Flamingos in Florida, particularly at Stormwater Treatment Area 2 (STA2). There unfortunately is a huge disparity in the number of flamingos observed at STA2 from year to year with a high count of 147 in early 2014 and only eight counted in early 2015. However, there was a flamingo mating event observed by a tour group at STA2 in 2015. Flamingo field trips at STA2 are sponsored by Audubon Society of the Everglades.

The American Flamingo above (image 10) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo above (image 11) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

Lee County has been a rare host to American Flamingos unlike the well known venues STA2, and Snake Bight located in Everglades National Park. 2015 was a boon for Lee County flamingo observations with a bird seen throughout July and another flamingo seen in early September.

The American Flamingo above (image 12) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo above (image 13) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingos seen in Lee County in 2015 had a wide range from Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to Bunche Beach Preserve to Bowditch Point Park to Fort Myers Beach to Lovers Key State Park. A great documentation of the flamingo in the area in September was made by South Florida wildlife photographer Al Hoffacker.

The American Flamingo above (image 14) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The Brown Pelican above (image 15) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The flamingo observed in South Fort Myers in late January 2016 seems to favor the Sanibel Causeway tollbooth to Bowditch Point Park to Bunche Beach Preserve. Upon close observation the flamingo can be observed doing a highly entertaining Elvis-like shuffle when feeding.

The American Flamingo above (image 16) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

The American Flamingo above (image 17) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

A bonus bird seen at Bunche Beach Preserve this day was a white morph Reddish Egret with satellite tracking technology. Reddish Egrets are the rarest wading birds in the United States with a study underway to particularly identify the cause of the decline of the species in the Florida Keys.

The banded white morph Reddish Egret above (image 18) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

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The scene above (image 19) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2016.

6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part IV

This final chapter of a series highlights a variety of bird species that can be seen at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge's Wildlife Drive at opportune times.

The Northern Cardinal above (image 1) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

Images presented were captured on the mornings of 25 November and 10 December. If you look closely at the image immediately above, you can see the reflection of a male Northern Cardinal that was perched on the side view mirror of the car when the picture was taken. Cardinals and Florida Scrub-Jays are particularly entertained by their reflections in mirrors and glass.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 2) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Tricolored Heron above (image 3) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Green Heron above (image 4) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Double-crested Cormorant above (image 5) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 6) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 7) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 8) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Green Heron above (image 9) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret above (image 10) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 11) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Snowy Egret above (image 12) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Snowy Egret above (image 13) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 14) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 15) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret with prey harassed by Laughing Gull above (image 16) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 17) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Greater Yellowlegs above (image 18) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 19) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 20) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Reddish Egret above (image 21) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 22) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 23) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 24) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 25) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 26) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 27) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Common Ground Dove above (image 28) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 29) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret above (image 30) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull with prey above (image 31) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 32) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The banded American White Pelican above (image 33) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The banded American White Pelican as seen above and below was the first I have seen in my nearly nine years of wildlife photography. The banded pelican was seen by wildlife enthusiasts and photographers France Paulsen and Gail Campbell at the Refuge in preceding days. The best I could discern was that the code color of the tag was black indicating that the pelican was banded in Minnesota or South Dakota. The tag and code colors will indicate other possible Northwestern states where the pelicans are banded.

The banded American White Pelican above (image 34) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 35) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Wood Stork above (image 36) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 37) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 38) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull with prey above (image 39) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull with prey above (image 40) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 41) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Great Egret above (image 42) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 43) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 44) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 45) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Osprey above (image 46) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull above (image 47) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull above (image 48) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis with Laughing Gull and Snowy Egret above (image 49) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Snowy Egret with White Ibisabove (image 50) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis with Laughing Gull above (image 51) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull with White Ibis above (image 52) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The immature Bald Eagle above (image 53) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Dunlin above (image 54) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

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The Double-crested Cormorant above (image 55) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part I
Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part II
Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part III