“It was my birthday on January 21st. I said ‘I’m going to go find my birthday bird.’ I went down to the beach, and a lady came out and she looked like she knew what she was talking about. I asked ‘Is there anything interesting down there? I need a birthday bird.’ And she said ‘Well, there’s a flamingo there.’ And that was that. ”

Gail was the original finder/reporter of the wild American Flamingo on Bunche Beach, FL on 1/21. She enjoys wildlife photography, and takes beautiful bird images. After searching for the flamingo from this morning's low tide until high tide, I decided to explore elsewhere around the area since the bird wasn't present on the water. After exhausting every other location, I returned to Bunche Beach. I saw Gail being interviewed by WINK news. Not wanting to ruin the interview, i walked behind the camera and set up my scope overlooking the shoreline. A large pink bird floating offshore caught my eye. The flamingo had returned! I spent the next few minutes on my phone, calling everyone I knew in the area to get the word out to the tour group and out-of-state birders who I'd met in the morning. I wanted to be sure everyone got to look at it, so I set up my Phone Skope and despite the rain and wet equipment, I followed the flamingo around with my scope and let others view it. The bird seemed hard pressed to find a suitable feeding spot in the high chop caused by the wind. Taking flight, the flamingo surveyed the area and then disappeared through the mist. I was asked by the reporter to answer a few questions, and was happy to share my videos and photos which made the local news earlier tonight. Check it out!