Displaced and stressed. The mini-flock, three pink adults and two grayish youngsters.
A rare Wisconsin visit
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. – Five flamingos, apparently blown of course by Hurricane Idalia, have taken up residence, at least temporarily, wading just off shore in Lake Michigan. Spectators showed to see the birds – the first flamingo visit ever recorded as far north as Wisconsin. Jerry Lorenz, an avian researcher, speculated that the birds were flying between Cuba and the Yucatan and were diverted by the hurricane and became confused. Lorenz urged people to give the flamingos lots of space. “These birds are stressed right now,” he said. “They just went through a terrible ordeal.”
Why pink?
Flamingos get their pink color from their food. On the Gulf Coast and Caribbean they eat a brine shrimp that feeds on carotenoid-rich algae. Carotenoid are what turns carrots orange and tomatoes red. The algae and brine shrimp metabolize and turn flamingo feathers pink. Flamingos hatch gray.