You Could Find Flamingos on These Beaches

Flamingo Beach, Aruba - Photo by fokkebaarssen/Shutterstock.com

Flamingos are usually a tropical bird. For the most part, they love water, warm weather, and plenty of mud to stomp around in. Naturally, the beach is a wonderful place for a flamingo to make their own.

But not every beach across the world is liable to house the fabulous fowl. The bird requires more than a picturesque sunset and sand between its toes to survive and thrive. If you’re a flamingo fan and want to know which beaches across the world might offer you a chance at spotting one of these majestic creatures, then you’re in the right spot.

Before I go any deeper, you should understand that these beaches are only ones that would be reasonable for a human to get to. There are plenty of beaches in the world that flamingos flock to but people don’t, and rightfully so, because we can’t withstand boiling water the same way the beautiful bird can. That knocks out spots like Lake Natron from inclusion.

Lake Natron, Tanzania - TheEverywhereMan/Shutterstock.com

Another disclaimer: I am not guaranteeing you a flamingo if you make it to these beaches. If you go all the way there and don’t catch a glimpse of the fabulous fowl, don’t blame it on me. I’m just some guy.

Without further ado, let’s go to the beach!

3 Beaches Where You Could Find Flamingos

Playa Roja, Paracas National Reserve, Peru

Paracas National Reserve is breathtaking, with beaches, deserts, and tons of life teeming within its grounds. Playa Roja is one piece of the local nature puzzle, and beach-goers have seen flamingos there before.

Paracas, Peru - Photo by AlexandraLande/Shutterstock.com

There are more than 150 bird species living at the park, and you’re likely to see some of them if you make the trip. Flamingos are one of those species, and they could be included in your sight seeing if you’re lucky enough.

Even if not, this place is so beautiful that you’ll still be happy you went. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Flamingo Beach, Aruba

Flamingos are not native to Aruba, and you won’t find them by wandering around the island. But they are kept at one specific, private beach, known as Flamingo Beach.

The beach is on a private island and is part of the Renaissance Hotel. You can only get there by a boat transfer that the hotel operates. Your options are to stay at the hotel, which is not cheap, or get a day pass for access to the beach. But that’s convoluted, too: if the hotel has enough residents there, they won’t sell passes for that day, and they only go on sale the day before.

Flamingo Beach, Aruba - Photo by fokkebaarssen/Shutterstock.com

Whether all that is worth it to you or not is your prerogative. Personally, I’d rather go to the zoo, but if you have the time, money, and patience to jump through these hoops to be on a private beach with flamingos, then more power to you. It exists.

Lake Michigan?!?

Welcome to 2023, where the climates are made up and the locations don’t matter.

I wouldn’t count on this as a long-term thing, but as recently as September, flamingos were spotted on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. It was the first time the bird has ever been seen in the state.

Hurricane Idalia in August pushed a lot of birds north, and flamingo sightings in many non-traditional habitats across the United States popped up as a result. They had not been seen in Wisconsin until about a month ago, though, well after the storm had cleared up and the aerial pathways south were available.

I wouldn’t plan a trip to a Lake Michigan beach with the expressed goal of seeing a flamingo in the flesh, but apparently it’s possible, which isn’t something anyone would have thought just a handful of weeks ago.