For several days now, birders have been able to enjoy the presence of a Caribbean race Greater Flamingo. The bird is easily viewed from the Texas City Dike, a long jetty on East Galveston Bay.
Over 200 interested individuals went to see this bird yesterday (Sunday), and the inevitable questions regarding the bird's origins have begun on TEXBIRDS, the state-wide bird sightings listserve.
The bird is a sub-adult, with a three-colored bill (white, black, and yellowish), and mostly grayish pink legs. There is a deeper red-pink wash to the coverts visible when the bird has its wings folded. The bird has several times been harassed by rock-throwing crab fishermen, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been contacted to aid in protecting the bird.
The bird is not banded, nor are its wings clipped.
There have been several records of Greater Flamingo in Texas accepted over the last few years, but as you might imagine, none have occurred this far up the coast.
I saw the bird for about an hour on Saturday, and it was quite a thrill. Here's hoping that the flamingo is indeed accepted as a wild bird and that it is well-treated by those who come to view it.
Steve in Houston
Just FYI...that bird has been at Galveston for about 6 weeks now.
The weekend before Easter we went out to Galveston with the father and monther-in-law. It was on a Sunday about noon (right after a big storm Sat night) and were driving around Boliver Pennisula looking for a restaraunt. Father-in-law got lost back there and so we were driving around and about 30 feet off the road we saw a flamingo in some standing water (it looked darker grey than the photos I have seen of "Pinkie"). We all thought it was sort of unusual, but not "rare" (what the heck did I know..that was only about the 2nd time I had been to Galveston). About 10 minutes later saw one in flight (could have been the same one, but with the sun behind it it looked more pink to us).
Who knew it was such a rarity?...we are all pretty amused at the commotion these days...
Any chance that what you saw was a Roseate Spoonbill, a resident and very common bird along the coast?
Since the inception of the Texas Birds Records Committee, there have only been four accepted records of Greater Flamingo in the state. If more than one had been seen as early as six weeks ago (and miles away from the current location of the bird), birders would have been very interested to know.
Whenever they occur, please see that sightings of potential rarities are called in to the Texas Rare Bird Alert or posted on TEXBIRDS. In addition to the listing aspect of such a sighting, information is essential for an accurate picture of the distribution of birds in Texas.
Steve in Houston