The title of this article is also a multiple choice question.

WHY DO BIRDS SUDDENLY APPEAR?

a. Just like me, they long to be close to you.

b . They get sucked into a mini-black hole and are deposited at random locations.

c. They just get lost sometimes.

It is possible any of the three answers above is the correct answer but the MOST likely answer is ‘c’. They just get lost sometime.

An American Flamingo got lost out over the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea recently and showed up on a beach in Costa Rica.

This American Flamingo showed up on a Caribbean beach, near Cahuita, about two and a half weeks ago. Since that time almost every birder in Costa Rica has made the trek out to see it. (A Cahuita entrepreneur has become Costa Rica’s latest millionaire, selling hot dogs, soda, those little camera batteries and sunscreen to the throng.)

Any ‘first time ever’ bird showing up in Costa Rica becomes a big event; but when that bird is massive and bright PINK!!!! Well, you can imagine the excitement.

Why did this American Flamingo get lost? Maybe it just made a wrong turn somewhere but most likely those massive tropical storms and hurricanes out in the Gulf had a lot to do with it.

The Flamingo has been with us for over two weeks and seems quite content feeding along our Caribbean mudflat beaches. If you want to give it a look, I suggest you drive to the Cahuita area and look for a pod of people all carrying binoculars and cameras…eating hot dogs and drinking soda. Tell them hi.

American Flamingo, photo courtesy of Wikipedia.