The tropical joy run unabated until the turn of the decade into the 1960s. The flamingos were instantly popular among the American public, with buyers grabbing pairs at a fair introductory cost. It took two weeks to develop molds for the birds, with their manufacture using polystyrene and injection molding. Pink was an extremely on-trend color, and since there weren’t a lot of pink animals to work with, flamingoes enjoyed uncontested attention.įeatherstone relied on National Geographic photos to create originals as actual live flamingos were scant in supply in Leominster. The pink plastic flamingo was his masterpiece at the establishment. In 1957, artist Don Featherstone was part of the Union Products of Massachusetts. Their fairly exotic pinkness matched well with the rattan furniture and dreams of Florida beach houses. The tradition of having plastic pink flamingos in gardens began in the 1950s when American homeowners could purchase them on everything, from wallpaper to upholstery fabric and paint-by-number paintings. Let’s dig deeper and get a better understanding of what a pink flamingo means, its relations to John Walter’s 1972 film, and the irony of its different meanings over time. Since their 1950s origins, their meaning has evolved from a joyful symbol of kitsch to a symbol of low-class humor, and slowly into what is today a fun charity project known as flocking. Pink flamingos are a common ornament in American backyards. Store-bought sculptures, accent pieces, and other decorative pieces make our outdoor spaces shine. If you are looking for a quicker, more efficient way, garden ornaments are an important consideration. And maybe even someday nest and we’ll have our own population again.From flower beds to gardens, backyards have numerous ways to spruced up, needing just a bit of creativity and elbow grease. “We’re hoping they find that they like it here and stay. “Our hope with this group is that this is the foundation,” Lorenz said. Scientists are hoping the longer the flamingos stick around, the more they will consider Florida home for good. “With Everglades’ restoration, conservation lands, state parks, National Wildlife Preserve, things like that, they got a lot of habitat that’s protected,” Lorenz said. “They need 50 or more individuals to form a colony so we hope they can either find the established Everglades colony, find their way back home, or even start a new colony here.” “Our community is delighted they are able to rest and feed here in peace,” said Big Pine Key resident and conservationist Valerie Preziosi. Their meat was a delicacy and their feathers were used as fashion. More than a century ago, the birds were hunted to near extinction. “I was there with that bird in hand, and they are just stunning, and now people are taking pictures of it and reporting it to me,” Lorenz said.Īlthough the pink flamingo has been associated with Florida and pop culture for years - even appearing in the opening credits of the 1980s show “Miami Vice” - most have only seen them in captivity. When Lorenz heard about Peaches, he got permission to band it, so he and other researchers could track its movements. Petersburg Beach by a fisherman after the storm. One, later named Peaches, was found floating and tired off St. But most flamingos landed here in Florida. Since the hurricane, there have been sightings around the country including in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. “And they fell out at either side of the storm.” They kept trying to go around it and didn’t make it, and just rode along with the storm until it landed in Florida,” Lorenz said. “I think the birds were probably making that crossing, the storms kept getting bigger. ![]() He thinks these flamingos were likely blown here by Hurricane Idalia. Jerry Lorenz with Audubon Florida said the flamingos fly across great distances and make crossings between Cuba and the Yucatan. “And I said, ‘Look for a salt marsh.’ We looked down there and we saw them, went home and got my camera, and came back here.” “We were coming home and my wife saw Sunshine Key and she said, ‘That’s where my friend saw the flamingos,’” said Keys resent Brian Phelps. Soon, residents began stopping to marvel at the sight. Local 10′s Janine Stanwood went bird watching and found a group of three flamingos making themselves comfortable in Ohio Key, just south of Marathon. The rose-colored birds have recently been spotted in the Everglades and hanging around in the Florida Keys. – For the last few weeks, people all over Florida have been treated to a rare sight: pink flamingos in the wild.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |