Researchers believe** **the new arrivals blew in with Hurricane Idalia last August, probably from Mexico or the Bahamas, where conservation efforts over the past 50 years have helped flamingo populations recover from near extinction. It wasn’t the first time a powerful storm swept the birds to Florida. But in most of those instances, the flamingos left after only a few days.

This time, they stayed.

Earlier this month, Audubon Florida released the results of a February field study that documented 101 wild American flamingo sightings around the state — with more people reporting seeing them in a single week than at any other point in time since the early 1900s.