For the Love of Flamingos

Henry Nixon sets out on patrol at sunrise. The smell of sulfur wafts from the nearby salt ponds that he drives by in his truck. He is greeted by the honks and squawks of thousands of flamingos well before he sets eyes on the pink birds.

The birds are both gangly and majestic. “The silhouette of the flamingos at sunset is striking, and their beauty in flight is breathtaking,” says Nixon. They build nests and feed in shallow pools teeming with brine shrimp. The pigment from the shrimp is what gives flamingos their pink coloring. 

Henry Nixon sets out on patrol at sunrise. He drives his truck by the nearby salt ponds. The ponds smell strongly of sulfur. Nixon hears the honks and squawks of thousands of flamingos before he first sees the pink birds.

The birds are both odd-looking and majestic. "The silhouette of the flamingos at sunset is striking, and their beauty in flight is breathtaking," says Nixon. The birds build nests in the shallow salt pools. They also feed on brine shrimp that live there. The flamingos get their pink color from eating the pink shrimp. 

Nixon is the warden for Great Inagua National Park in the Bahamas. The park is about the size of Austin, Texas, and covers more than half of the island of Great Inagua. Nixon oversees at least 60,000 flamingos, along with dozens of other bird species, including roseate spoonbills, great egrets, snowy egrets, and great blue herons. But the flamingos are the stars. And they have come a long way.

For hundreds of years, flamingos were hunted across South America, the Caribbean, and Florida for their meat and their iconic pink feathers. The feathers were mostly used for hats and other accessories. By the 1950s, the region’s flamingos were almost extinct.

Nixon works for Great Inagua National Park in the Bahamas. He's the warden there. The park is about the size of Austin, Texas. It covers more than half of the island of Great Inagua. Nixon looks after dozens of bird species, including spoonbills, egrets, and herons. But the flamingos are the stars. At least 60,000 of them live in the park. And they have come a long way. 

For hundreds of years, flamingos were hunted across South America, the Caribbean, and Florida. People sold their meat and their famous pink feathers. The feathers were mostly used for hats and other accessories. By the 1950s, flamingos were almost extinct in the area.

Robert Porter Allen, director of research for the Audubon Society, visited Great Inagua to see its breeding colony in the 1950s. Nixon’s father and uncle were expert hunters and knew their way into the inner pools where the birds nested. Allen hired them to protect this colony, which was the key to the species’ comeback. 

Allen worked with the Nixons and a group of conservationists to form a society to protect flamingos. Their actions eventually led to the creation of Great Inagua National Park. Nixon’s father became the park’s first warden. With their habitat protected within the park, the bird’s population boomed. Eventually flamingos began spreading across the Caribbean.

Robert Porter Allen visited Great Inagua in the 1950s. He was the director of research for the Audubon Society at the time. He wanted to see the breeding colony of flamingos. But they were hard to find. Nixon's father and uncle were expert hunters. They knew their way into the inner pools where the birds nested. Allen hired them to protect this colony. That was the key to the species' comeback.

Allen worked with the Nixons and a group of conservationists. They formed a society to protect flamingos. That eventually led to the creation of Great Inagua National Park. Nixon's father became the first warden. He protected the birds' habitat within the park. After that, the population boomed. Eventually flamingos began spreading across the Caribbean. 

“Flamingos are now back in Cuba, where they had almost disappeared,” says Nixon. The birds have also extended their range to many other islands across the Caribbean. Great  Inagua’s birds have even been spotted in Florida!

Since he grew up helping his dad and uncle monitor and protect the park’s birds, Nixon eventually became warden himself. He now patrols the grounds daily and takes visitors on bird-watching tours. “We get to meet interesting and famous people from all over the world who travel to Inagua to see our flamingos,” he says. “I love the birds and love my job.”

"Flamingos are now back in Cuba, where they had almost disappeared," says Nixon. The birds have also spread to many other islands across the Caribbean. Birds from Great Inagua have even been spotted in Florida!

Nixon grew up helping his dad and uncle monitor and protect the park's birds. Eventually he became the warden himself. He now patrols the grounds daily. He also takes visitors on bird-watching tours. "We get to meet interesting and famous people from all over the world who travel to Inagua to see our flamingos," he says. "I love the birds and love my job."