Scientists: Florida flamingos are native to the state

You can find flamingos at zoos, on lottery tickets and across lawns throughout the state. 

But do the birds even live here? 

That argument has been ongoing for nearly a century since Florida's once vast flamingo population crashed due to over-hunting. 

But it seems to finally have been solved after a team of scientists published an abstract earlier this week that says flamingos now found in extreme South Florida are wild and native to the Sunshine State. 

"The common attitude amongst the scientific community is as far as the birds go, they are escapees," said Jerry Lorenz, one of the scientists who published the abstract and the director of research at Audubon Florida. "That's what the state considers them. That's what the federal government tells us. That was the gospel." 

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That gospel was broken this week by the abstract, which shows that at least two of the birds in a large flock found in Florida Bay are from wild flocks in Mexico. 

The birds were banded shortly after birth and were part of separate colonies. 

The fact that the birds showed up in Florida proves that they will fly to various parts of the Caribbean, and even to Florida, he says. 

"Very quickly I came to the conclusion that this is a native species and there is no reason to believe those birds are escapees," Lorenz said. "I'm not saying there are no escapees (in the flock or on the loose) but we have individuals from the Caribbean and Bahamas." 

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Historically, flamingos were found in the Florida Keys, Florida Bay and what is now Everglades National Park. 

In recent years, one group found in Florida contained more than 120 individuals. A flock of 60 stayed in Florida Bay for more than a year. 

"Recent population increases in Florida are best explained by immigration from expanding nesting populations in the Caribbean, rather than increased numbers of escaped individuals," the abstract reads. "Resolving the long-standing controversy over the status and origin of Florida's flamingos will help develop appropriate evidence-based management strategies for this species — a culturally significant component of Florida's avifauna."

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Flamingos are thought to have gone extinct in Florida by the early 1900s, although individuals and small groups were reported from time to time. 

"We started seeing larger flocks of five, 10, 25 and in the 1990s there was 60 in Florida Bay," Lorenz explained. "And a few years ago there was a flock of 120-something. The number of sightings has gone up but you could argue there are more people in Florida watching these birds." 

What can't be argued is the tagged birds from Mexico.  

"I think if people look at this paper, they'll come around," Lorenz said. "The federal government will take a lot longer time. But it would be nice to get them on a recovery plan and to get them on the endangered species list but the goal is to let people know these birds are native." 

Jim Beever, with the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, is a biologist and has tracked various wildlife in South Florida for decades. 

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Beever was glad to see the abstract proved their existence.

"On and off for my whole life I’ve seen flamingos in real South Florida," Beever said. "They’re not a bird that shows up in Melbourne or Cedar Key or the panhandle. They’re a bird of the keys, the Everglades and they come as far north as Charlotte Harbor on our side."

Lorenz said the next step is to develop a recovery plan for the species and get the bird listed on the Endangered Species List. 

Historic evidence shows that flamingos nested in keys and built mud, volcano-like nests on which to lay their eggs, but "we do not believe they are currently nesting anywhere in Florida," Lorenz said. 

Lorenz was part of the non-believers, too. That's what he'd always been taught.

"Nobody wants to be wrong when it comes to this stuff," he said. "But the most excited I've been as a scientist is when I've found out I was wrong."

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter. 

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Appearance: Tall, thin birds that range in color from a light gray to sunset pink. 

Range: Occurs mostly in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico, but is now thought to be a native of Florida as well. 

Feeding: They have a specialized bill that allows them to scoop up mouthfuls of water and then strain tiny creatures from the water. 

Source: Audubon Florida