Of Nesting Spoonbills, Nestling Flamingos, Left-the-Nest Shearwaters, and Mystery Gulls

Pink-footed Shearwater image by Felonious Jive

What do all these birds have in common? They’re (at least partially) pink. And they’re making the news, too.

First off, Audubon of Florida reports that counts indicate more Roseate Spoonbills are nesting in Florida Bay (between the mainland and the Keys) this year than last year, although those numbers are still lower than in the last decade.

Speaking of birds in nests, five Chilean Flamingo chicks who were raised by a human “surrogate dad” at a British wildlife center have now graduated to joining the adults in the center’s colony. The hope is that their presence while inspire the grown-ups to breeding success. (Click the video for a not-yet-pink baby Flamingo hatching, guzzling from a syringe, and just generally being cute and fluffy.)

The far-inland Chattanoogan newspaper in Tennessee shares a story about an international team of researchers tracking half a dozen Pink-footed Shearwaters from Chile to North America and back in hopes of learning about the at-risk birds’ habits and how better to protect them. (The story includes a link to the tracking site so you can see where the birds are now!)

Finally, identifying gulls can be tricky, but there’s one in Michigan that seems to have everyone stumped. That’s because it’s pink! Scientists have theories, but no answers yet. (You can keep up with the latest on this case through the Michigan Birding Network.)

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It is Pink Bird Weekend on 10,000 Birds! Whether we are discussing birds shaded roseate, fuchsia, rose, coral, salmon, blush, or just plain pink, we have them all covered on Pink Bird Weekend. Why would we bother with such an esoteric topic? To put it simply, pink birds are awesome! Think about it, have you ever seen a pink bird and not wanted to see it again? Of course not! Make sure to check back all Pink Bird Weekend long as we delve into every possible pulchritudinous pink bird we can think of…