Largest group of flamingos in a decade spotted in Florida Everglades
Mark Ian Cook, a wildlife and scientific photographer, posted on Facebook that he saw a group of 115 flamingos along the coastline of Florida Bay in the Everglades on Friday.
Cook was taking part in an aerial bird survey via helicopter over Florida Bay when the flamingos were first spotted. He said pilot James Davies "pointed out a large group of Roseate Spoonbills in the distance, which isn't an unexpected sight in this area. Except on closer inspection we realized they weren't spoonbills, they were a group of 115 flamingos."
Cook said it is the largest single flock recorded in Florida since 2014, when 147 flamingos were seen together in a water conservation area in the Everglades.
"Unfortunately it's almost impossible not to spook a large group of flamingos from a helicopter and they rapidly took flight," he wrote. "But after taking a few images for science and giving a group of fishermen in a flats boat some incredible views as the birds circled around their boat, we left the birds in peace to continue our survey."
Cook added that a group of 30-or-so flamingos seen in another part of the Everglades earlier appeared to have moved and may have joined with the 100-plus bird group.
Florida's native flamingo population, thought to be in the thousands, was wiped out in the early 1900s by hunters seeking the birds' feathers and meat. Prior to 2023, few flamingo sightings were reported in the state.
That changed when Hurricane Idalia created headlines by scattering flamingos from nesting grounds in Mexico into Florida and other places. While most flew home, many decided to stay in Florida. A group at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been residing there for more than a year and half.
Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel recently that more flamingos are being seen in Florida, even before Idalia.
"We were increasingly seeing flocks of them in the Everglades in particular. So Florida Bay and in the water conservation areas," she said. "So we already know that there is some established movement between the breeding areas in the Yucatan and Cuba and South Florida in the winter. "
While flamingos are being seen more, there has been no documented nesting in Florida since the late 1800s or early 1900s.
"I think we all are eagerly waiting and hoping that that's going to happen," she said. "And, you know, it still could. But the first step is the bird staying through the season and being able to make a living here, so to speak."
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Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Largest group of flamingos in a decade spotted in Florida Everglades
The largest group of American Flamingos seen in Florida in more than a decade was recorded late last week. Mark Ian Cook, a wildlife and scientific photographer, posted on Facebook that he saw a group of 115 flamingos along the coastline of Florida Bay in the Everglades on Friday. Cook was taking part in an aerial bird survey via helicopter over Florida Bay when the flamingos were first spotted. He said pilot James Davies "pointed out a large group of Roseate Spoonbills in the distance, which isn't an unexpected sight in this area. Except on closer inspection we realized they weren't spoonbills, they were a group of 115 flamingos." Cook said it is the largest single flock recorded in Florida since 2014, when 147 flamingos were seen together in a water conservation area in the Everglades. "Unfortunately it's almost impossible not to spook a large group of flamingos from a helicopter and they rapidly took flight," he wrote. "But after taking a few images for science and giving a group of fishermen in a flats boat some incredible views as the birds circled around their boat, we left the birds in peace to continue our survey." Cook added that a group of 30-or-so flamingos seen in another part of the Everglades earlier appeared to have moved and may have joined with the 100-plus bird group. Florida's native flamingo population, thought to be in the thousands, was wiped out in the early 1900s by hunters seeking the birds' feathers and meat. Prior to 2023, few flamingo sightings were reported in the state. That changed when Hurricane Idalia created headlines by scattering flamingos from nesting grounds in Mexico into Florida and other places. While most flew home, many decided to stay in Florida. A group at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been residing there for more than a year and half. Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel recently that more flamingos are being seen in Florida, even before Idalia. "We were increasingly seeing flocks of them in the Everglades in particular. So Florida Bay and in the water conservation areas," she said. "So we already know that there is some established movement between the breeding areas in the Yucatan and Cuba and South Florida in the winter. " While flamingos are being seen more, there has been no documented nesting in Florida since the late 1800s or early 1900s. "I think we all are eagerly waiting and hoping that that's going to happen," she said. "And, you know, it still could. But the first step is the bird staying through the season and being able to make a living here, so to speak." -------- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
American Military News
20-06-2025
- American Military News
Captain Cook's lost ship found off Rhode Island coast
The Australian National Maritime Museum recently announced the discovery of Captain James Cook's iconic shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island, bringing a conclusion to a 250-year-old mystery. In a report published on June 3, the Australian National Maritime Museum explained that historical and archaeological evidence collected as part of an extensive project that spanned over two decades has led researchers to conclude that the RI 2394 shipwreck site in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, is Cook's 'HMS Endeavour,' which was later renamed the 'Lord Sandwich' when the ship was used by the British. 'This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel,' Australian National Maritime Museum Director Daryl Karp said. Karp described the report as a 'definitive statement' regarding the search for the HMS Endeavour, which the Australian National Maritime Museum launched in 1999. The museum's director added that the search has 'involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe.' According to The New York Post, the HMS Endeavour became famous for becoming the first European ship to circumnavigate New Zealand and land in the eastern part of Australia as part of an expedition that took place between 1768 and 1771. READ MORE: Pics: Two shipwrecks confirmed as slave ships by archaeologists Fox News reported that the iconic ship was later intentionally sunk off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island, in an effort to prevent attacks by America and France. The outlet noted that while researchers have known that the shipwreck of the HMS Endeavor was located off the coast of Rhode Island, the exact location of the shipwreck remained a mystery for roughly 250 years. According to the report, the shipwreck, which is located between 39 and 43 feet underwater, features a 'linear stone ballast pile, the eastern periphery of which features a line of partially exposed frame ends that are closely spaced and of substantial size.' 'Four iron cannons are also present on the site,' the museum added in the report. 'Two are largely exposed above the seabed and lie immediately adjacent to one another on the western side of the site.' The museum's report explains that by 2019, an investigation of the different shipwrecks located in the region led researchers to believe that RI 2394 was the 'most likely candidate' for the HMS Endeavour shipwreck. According to the report, the shipwreck's location satisfies 10 criteria previously agreed upon by different experts. According to the report, the measurements of the RI 2394 shipwreck also match the measurements recorded in a 1768 survey of the iconic ship.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Yahoo
Captain Cook's Endeavour confirmed to be in Rhode Island waters
Researchers have confirmed that the 18th-century British explorer Captain James Cook's lost ship found its final resting place in Rhode Island's Newport Harbor, solving a decadeslong mystery, according to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Two Australian historians, Mike Connell and Des Liddy, originally pinpointed the location of the ship, called HMS Endeavour in 1998, the museum said in a report released earlier this month. The museum's report detailed how a 26-year archival and archaeological research program ultimately determined that the Endeavour was, in fact, at the bottom of Newport Harbor as Connell and Liddy had thought. Captain Cook famously sailed the Endeavour across the Pacific Ocean multiple times in the mid-1700s. He is remembered for his voyage to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia, which he claimed for Britain, as well as Hawaii, where he ultimately met his fate in a dispute with indigenous residents. Cook's exploration of the islands laid the foundation for British colonization in those areas, which is why, for different reasons, it's an important part of Australian history, according to the museum's report. "For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe's Age of Enlightenment," the executive summary of the report reads, "while for others it symbolises the onset of colonisation and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples." After Cook's death, the Endeavour returned to England, which went on to use it for transporting British troops and detaining prisoners during the American Revolutionary War. It was sold to private owners, who renamed the ship Lord Sandwich, and deliberately sunk in Newport Harbor in the midst of war in 1778. When Australian maritime experts initially announced in 2022 that they believed the Endeavour was among a number of ancient shipwrecks still scattered across Newport Harbor, the claim was widely debated. But a partnership between the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and the Australian National Maritime Museum forged ahead with the research that eventually led to the wreck's identification. They are working to ensure that the wreck site is protected from now on. "Given Endeavour's historical and cultural significance to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, England, the United States of America and First Nations peoples throughout the Pacific Ocean, positive identification of its shipwreck site requires securing the highest possible level of legislative and physical protection," the report says. American stranded in Israel with her family speaks out amid airstrike exchanges with Iran May retail sales drop more than expected Everything we know about Israel, Iran and where Trump stands on the conflict
