There are no flamingos in Texas.
David Foreman, a fishing guide on the Gulf Coast, tells this to his clients all the time when they spot roseate spoonbills, smaller birds that can also be pink like a flamingo. Hundreds of times he’s had to correct people.
Then Flamingo No. 492 arrived. An escapee from a Kansas zoo in 2005, the bird was three years old when it flew the coop. Workers forgot to clip its wings and on Independence Day of that year no less, 492 beelined it for a drainage canal. Eventually, it found its way to the warm gulf shores, marshy, with plenty of food, a flamingo respite.
Pink Floyd has returned from the dark side of the moon.
The flamingo escaped from a Kansas zoo in 2005 and is often spotted on the #TexasCoast.
📷David Foreman@TPWDfish pic.twitter.com/cjrevByDhm
— TX Parks & Wildlife (@TPWDnews) March 28, 2022
“It’s almost like nature’s way of putting me in my place,” Mr. Foreman said. “Mr. Knows-Everything thinks there’s no flamingos in Texas? Have a look at this.”
Texas wildlife agencies have named the bird Pink Floyd and say it’s actually been spotted before, about once per year.
The New York Times has more on this story, and you can read it right here.
