SEBEWAING, MICH. — Some Michigan duck hunters wound up with the story of a lifetime this week when a pink flamingo flew in for a landing among their decoys on Saginaw Bay.
The sighting reportedly took place near Sebewaing River Campground, about 40 minutes northeast of Bay City. If confirmed by state birding record committees, it will mark the first time a wild American flamingo has ever been seen in Michigan.
Details were still emerging Thursday as birding enthusiasts flocked to the area for the chance to see this “mega rarity,” spurred by photos of the strange scene — a flamingo placidly sitting on the water, surrounded by Canada goose decoys — that had been circulating on social media. As of early afternoon the flamingo had not been found since the initial report, but people were scouring the nearby shorelines in an attempt to relocate it.
Michigan is the latest state to catch flamingo fever in a historic wave of rare sightings across the eastern U.S. in the past month, after Hurricane Idalia pushed up large flocks of the tropical birds from the Caribbean in late August.
Since then, the iconic pink waders have been the subject of surprise sightings in 17 states. They’ve even been spotted by the dozens in Florida, where they’ve been locally extinct for more than a century.
Since late September, when a group of flamingos were found wading along a beach on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan, Michigan birdwatchers have been on high alert for their state’s turn.
According to Aaron Cummings, who co-owns the Sebewaing River Campground with his father, Matthew, the Saginaw Bay sighting took place in a marshy spot with approximately two to three feet of water, echoing the shallow, soggy habitat in which the birds have appeared in other states.
If the bird is relocated, it is unclear if it would stick around so far from its natural home; most of the flamingos that have turned up elsewhere have moved on within a few days.
“I’m not a flamingo expert, but it seems a little chilly for pink birds around here,” Cummings said. “You usually find them in people’s yards on stakes. Hopefully it’s got some thick feathers because it’s gonna get cold.”
