I have such exciting news to share with my fellow bird nerds (and those of you who simply love nature), there are more than 100 flamingos currently on St. John. How amazing is that??!
Gail Karlsson, a St. John resident and expert birder, recently announced results of the annual December bird count and I was stunned to learn that we now have more than 100 flamingos here on the island. This is such a tremendous feat considering we were ecstatic when just one showed up a few years ago.
I’ve seen two flamingos in the pond at Francis Bay multiple times over the past few months. They seem to be there every day. I’ve seen a few at the pond beside Miss Lucy’s recently, and I saw what appeared to be dozens yesterday at the pond just before the dirt road that leads to Lameshur. They’re just so cool.
Gail wrote the following in the Virgin Island Source:
“Historically, flamingos were native residents of the Virgin Islands, but then early European settlers found them to be good eating – ‘tastes like a goose’. Their honking voices do make them sound a lot like geese. But of course they are so much more beautiful. Anyway, between hunting, feather gathering and habitat loss, they were all wiped out by the mid-1900s.
“Then in 1992 a conservation group reintroduced a small group of flamingos from Bermuda to the British Virgin Islands. Those birds successfully reproduced, and there are now hundreds of flamingos on Anegada, the farthest north island in the BVIs. Another group was later brought to Necker Island. With growing populations in the BVIs, it seems that some of the flamingos have now decided to spread out and are flying over to check out the living conditions on St. John.”
Want to know more about St. John? Consider taking an island tour. You can learn more about my offerings at www.explorestj.com/tour.
