Don’t worry - no need to double-check the headline, you’re not going imagining things! A group of seven wild flamingos were spotted in a village on the outskirts of Amsterdam earlier this month, before taking flight and moving to Flevoland. 

Spanish flamingos in Amsterdam

The flamingos didn’t escape from the local zoo. They have actually travelled all the way from Andalusia, Spain. Experts know this because each of the birds has been tagged with a numeric code so they can be traced. Their origin means the five adults and two young birds have flown at least 2.000 kilometres to get to the Netherlands. 

The group first made an appearance near Nijmegen on July 9, before travelling to Durgerdam in the municipality of Amsterdam, where they were spotted for the first time on July 11. They stayed in the same lake on the Ijdoorn Polder in the village until Monday, July 20, and many people travelled there to get a glimpse of the beautiful wild birds. For a week and a half, the flamingos were less than 10 kilometres from Amsterdam Central Station, so were very close to the city centre.

Source: Amanda Weideman

On July 20, the birds were spotted in the air, flying around in the area for quite some time before leaving for good. A short while later a group of five adults and two young flamingos were seen at the Kwelplas in Almere. Since then, the group has moved to the Marker Wadden in Lelystad, where they were spotted on July 22. They have not been seen since.

Not the first time flamingos have come to the Netherlands

In 2015, a group of five flamingos also decided to make Durgerdam their temporary home, and a different group landed at the Kinseldam in Ijburg. Last year, one lone flamingo was spotted on Texel.

Natuurmonumenten.nl say the Ijdoorn Polder is a popular spot among birds in the summer, as a lot of food can be found there, and it is the perfect place for them to rest awhile when travelling long distances. A number of other species of bird can also be spotted there, including the beautiful white spoonbill, the colourful purple heron and the black and white avocet.

Thumb: Amanda Weideman