- Hurricane Idalia in August flung flamingos to more than a dozen states where they don't belong.
- They've been seen as far north as Wisconsin and as far west as Texas and Kansas.
The Midwest just got a lot more colorful.
Last week, several Wisconsinites got quite the surprise after groups of flamingos were spotted in two separate lakes, local outlet WISN reported.
And they weren't alone. While Wisconsin is the furthest north the flamingos have reached, birdwatchers as far west as Texas and Kansas have also spotted them. The birds are appearing in states stretching across the Midwest and eastern US, according to USA Today.
Flamingos have been spotted so far in 15 states, including Florida — the only state in which they actually belong.
The phenomenon first began when birdwatchers spotted mass numbers of flamingos descending from clouds in western Florida at the end of August, according to USA Today.
It's all thanks to Hurricane Idalia. While hurricanes have flung flamingos from their tropical climates before, this year there was a higher number than usual. Jerry Lorenz, state director of research for Audubon Florida, told the outlet last month that the flamingos "came in on the storm, whether they wanted to or not," riding outer rainbands until they reached land.
If you're a bird enthusiast in one of the affected states hoping to see a stray flamingo, you better get to watching. What Lorenz calls the "pink wave" won't last much longer, he said, with many flamingos already returning to their southern habitats.