I f you think you see a child eating cotton candy on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in the middle of the winter -- -- take another look! There's probably no child and it's probably the wild Chilean Flamingo!



Some reports of Pink Floyd from e-mail hotlines : Birdnet E-mail - 19 Dec 2010 - Saltair Subject: flamingo



To whom it may concern: Yesterday, December 19, 2010, I was driving on I-80 next to the Great Salt Lake and saw a pink flamingo standing in the water of the Great Salt Lake.



Karl R. Fink

(Chicago, Illinois) 12 May 2005 - To Kit Struthers, From John O'Neill of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Kit,



FYI. He's back. There is a flamingo hanging out near the dike of M4 and M3 at Market Lake.



John O'Neill - 24 Apr 2005 - Camas County in eastern Idaho Forwarded by "Camas was about the same but there were some Yellow-rumped Warblers thrown into the mix. Also the Chilean Flamingo was roosted in one of the ponds south of headquarters. It looks like they might be building a pond in the field west of the Russian Olives west of headquarters. That would be a very nice addition. Hopefully it's not wishful thinking". - 26 Jul 2003 - Bear River July 24 We birded the Bear River Bird Refuge in Brigham City, UT on the morning of July 24 and much to our surprise, found a single Flamingo (Greater?) on the flats with thousands of shorebirds. Perhaps this bird has been reported earlier so pardon us if the origin or status is already known. ... The bird was walking along away from the road but already 200 yards out in the flats - located 3/4 of the way around the driving loop.... ~ George and Ellen West, Green Valley, AZ E-mail quoting an e-mail - Idaho/Montana Seeing the recent posting on Pink Floyd reminded me of an encounter I had recently in Hawaii. I was on a Hawaii Forest & Trails birding expedition on the big island, when unexpectedly the subject of Pink Floyd came up. I was talking with Dave and Elise Faike from Idaho, and it turns out they have seen Pink Floyd on his summering grounds. Since I have never heard where Pink Floyd's went (although others of you may well have known) I asked Dave to send me more exact information. So just in case you're interested, here's a quote from Dave's email.



"Looking at my maps, it appears the lake where PF over-summers is named Lima Reservoir, just across the Idaho state line and into Montana. Evidently, it has stayed there each of the last 6 summers. Last spring, we sighted it in one of the many lakes (ponds) that make up Camas NWR just a few miles south of there." (~ Dave and Elise Faike, Idaho)



Good birding to all--Amy Owen (9 Dec 2002) Birdnet E-mail - 9 May 2002 - Saltair Subject: Pink Floyd



Since we didn't see anything about Pink Floyd this winter in scanning the web site, we just wanted to mention our experience for the record.



We were in SLC on 29 November 2002, and drove out toward Saltaire on the frontage road. Pink Floyd, the FLAMINGO that escaped from the aviary many years ago, was with a flock of gulls about 7/10 of a mile west of Saltaire, where some wood pilings stick up at the water's edge. We first looked at him with 10X binocs and a spotting scope at about 8:10 AM, then proceeded westward along the frontage road toward the yacht basin. About an hour later at 9:15 AM, he and the gulls were still in the same area.... Clay and Cliftia (Johnson) Birdnet E-mail - 30 Jan 2001 - Saltair Subject: Pink Floyd



Hi Everyone,

I went out to Saltair and the Marina after work this afternoon, hoping to find the female Hooded Merganser. No such luck, but just east of Saltair I saw Pink Floyd out in the water! I had tried to locate him a couple of times when he had been spotted earlier, without success, so it feels good when I stumbled upon him! ...



Bruce Robinson Birdnet E-mail - 4 May 2001 - Cache Valley



Subject: Pink Floyd



A reporter from Logan contacted Tracy Aviary today to get information about "Pink Floyd" the Chilean Flamingo that winters on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. (The bird escaped from the Aviary several years ago.)

The Flamingo is presently in Cache Valley, due west of the airport in the area of "Benson Marina". Apparently the bird has been seen in Idaho in previous summers and last summer was sighted in Montana.

Just an interesting note if anyone is interested... I've only seen Floyd in winter. Dave Thompson Birdnet E-mail - 1 Nov 2001 - Saltair Subject: Pink Floyd He's back! Tracy Aviary's escaped Chilean Flamingo was out at Saltaire today to spend another winter.



- -Larene (Wyss)



