I have such great news to share with you all today. The flamingos are still here on island! Woohoo! I saw at least 20 of them today hanging out over at the salt pond near Grootpan Bay while I was out and about on an Explore STJ island tour.
For those of you who are new to reading Explore STJ (welcome & thank you for reading!), we hadn’t seen flamingos on St. John in years. One would show up here or there, but it would quickly disappear, and we would, once again, become a flamingo-less island. Well, that was until February 2023 when a flamboyance of flamingos (that’s what a group of them are called) was spotted near Salt Pond, sending the island into a bird frenzy!
Flamingos are actually native to the Virgin Islands, but all were eaten or lost to development until the reintroduction on Anegada in 1992 and then another flock later on Necker Island. Anegada and Necker Island – which is a private island owned by Sir Richard Branson – are located over in the British Virgin Islands. According to Gail Karlsson – a St. John resident who is an environmental lawyer, author, photographer and avid bird watcher – there is currently a “smallish” flock on Beef Island (near the airport on Tortola), the Necker Island flock and about 300 on Anegada, according to a bird count a few years back.
A lot of time has been since this first sighting, so I wasn’t sure if they were still hanging around the island. I’ve heard of a spotting or two here or there, but never en masse like I witnessed today.
Steve Simonsen must have received a tip too, because he told some incredible photos of this flamboyance yesterday. Check them out:
And here is a quick video I took Sunday morning:
Incredible, aren’t they??!!
So the point of today’s story is, yes, the flamingos are still here! If you would like to see the island and possibly spot one of these beautiful birds, please consider taking an island tour with me! You can learn more about Explore STJ’s island tours at www.explorestj.com/tour.
Have a fantastic day everyone, and happy birdwatching!