Flaming flamingos

They seem so pink from afar. But when you zoom in, they are mostly white. And then one lifts his wing a little, and then you know. They say it’s from the shrimps they get their pink. Who knew.

I don’t say it often, but sometimes I could use a bigger lens. Sorry for the blurry distant fellows, but it is what it is. They like their privacy too much. (If you click on a photo, you’ll have them a bit closer.)

This is the Orbetello lagoon.

Italians must be burning something again.

The lagoon is next to the supermarket where we get our food.

This was four days ago: I heard a splashing and it was the duck passing.

Then I heard somebody else: a nutria came to flash its orange teeth.

And swam away before I could get a decent mugshot.

And this was today. A quick pre-groceries stroll.

I saw something whiten the horizon.

I knew what they were. They come every year. And they are never closer than this.

It’s always such thrill to see what my camera will focus on.

Not this now, Nikon, bad boy! Even though… hm… kind of nice.

And then they came into focus: pink flamingos.

A man passing by said that yesterday they hadn’t been there yet. Must have arrived in the night.

That’s why they seemed to be napping.

But are they really pink?

And who is the chaperone?

Very rarely, but sometimes I do see the point of a better camera. Who are all these greeting committee members?

And then one flamingo took off, and then I could see: the black and the red beneath the wings that together with the white comes off as pink.

Ignore this if you can!

Photo: a © signature mmm production