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The excitement over flamingo sightings among the birding community has been \"palpable,\" Lorenz said.

A birder in North Carolina found the first flock of wild flamingos ever spotted in the state -- in salt marshes in the Outer Banks, exactly where he expected to find them, because they are attracted to large bodies of water, Swick said.

Those flamingos were still being spotted in the Outer Banks as of Tuesday, Swick said.

For some of the birds who caught a ride on Hurricane Idalia, it may be a one-way journey. But flamingos are capable flyers and can travel for long distances, so they will likely soon return home.

\"The hope is that a lot of these birds are close enough to their breeding grounds that they'll be able to return there,\" Swick said.

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