For the past couple weeks, flamingos have set up shop out at Salt Pond, much to the surprise of residents and visitors.
Already a peaceful area, the flamingos have added a whimsical touch to the serene surroundings of Salt Pond.
According to retired park ranger Laurel Brannick, though flamingos are uncommon in St. John, they are not unheard of. She assumes this particular flamboyance came from the British Virgin Islands.
“On January 4, folks in Anegada did a bird count and counted 868 individual birds, with 387 being flamingos,” Brannick said. “They are also on Necker Island and Guana, where they have been successfully reintroduced as far back as 1992.”
Ranger Laurel says that the flamingos occasionally move between islands when their ponds dry up or they are looking for new territory for food and nesting.
“They have wandered over here many times in the past, but it has usually been a small amount, like a single bird or a flock of four,” Brannick said.
Flamingos were common in St. John at one time. It is highly likely that many European settlers ate flamingos and pelicans.
As of Wednesday, March 1st, there were 17 flamingos on island.
Love it! Hope they are still there in Oct.
Me too Diane G, we will be there in October too! I love flamingoes!❤️
Just when I thought St John couldn’t be more magical!!!
I hope they’re there in May!!! So fun!!
We are visiting in May! Hope they stay !
We were there recently exploring the Salt Ponds and Drunken Bay and had opportunity to see the flamingos! So very cool!
We will be there in a few weeks. Really hope to see the flamingos. Is the Salt Pond the body of water behind Salt Pond beach? We’ve seen people collecting salt from there.
Having been to St John several times, I was suprised and delighted to see one standing in Salt pond while walking to drunk bay on Feb 8th this year. I had never seen any around St John.
I’ve hiked to see them three times. The first time we saw what I assume to be the Mom who was much larger and a brighter pink. When I hiked to Salt Pond a week ago, the Mom and at least four of her young ones appear to have left. They had not returned as of Tuesday. I sure hope the remaining Flamboyance remains.