Fuzzy gray flaminglets are the first flamingos hatched at the Birmingham Zoo

6 • Thursday, August 25, 2022

ABOUT TOWN This Nest is Just Right

By Anne Ruisi

You could say the Birmingham Barons directed the stork to the Birmingham Zoo’s American flamingo exhibit earlier this summer when, for the first time, two baby flamingos were hatched.

That’s because soil from the pitcher’s mound at the Barons’ home stadium at Regions Field persuaded the future parents to build nests and hatch their babies, called flaminglets.

“It’s a big deal for us because it’s the first time they’ve hatched. Not everyone’s flamingos will hatch,” Hollie Colahan, the zoo’s deputy director, said. “You have to have everything right for them.”

Everything right means happy, healthy birds and the exact type of soil composition that will inspire flamingos to build nests.

The little birds, Pinecone and Baron – named for the team – eventually came about after the Barons donated the soil, called pitcher’s clay, when the pitcher’s mound was switched out with new soil, said Jennifer Ogilvie, the zoo’s marketing and public relations manager.

Pitcher’s clay is a combination of clay and sand. After the soil was taken in, the birds did the rest, including building the nest and making sure it was nice and wet so they could manipulate it to get it just right. The nests can be up to 2½ feet tall but are worn down a bit since the chicks were hatched about seven weeks ago, said Kristen Eversole, a zoo birdkeeper who works with the flamingos.

While they are now on the same special diet as the adult flamingos, at first the parents dribbled crop milk into their mouths to feed them, Eversole said.

“The parents are very involved,” Eversole said. “Pinecone’s parents took good care of him, but Baron’s parents rejected him at five days.”

While zoo staff doesn’t know why he was rejected, Baron had to be hand fed by zoo staff and is the more outgoing of the two. He’s a noisy little bird who chirps loudly and constantly around people because “if he sees a human, he thinks he’s going to get food,” Eversole said.

Baron weighs about 4.4 pounds, and Pinecone is about 3.3 pounds, she said.

Seen from a distance on a recent sweltering afternoon, the 19 flamingos at the Birmingham Zoo stand so still in their classic one-legged stance that they almost appear to be yard decorations.

The cute little balls of gray fluff making their way on stick-like legs through the tall green grass of the exhibit trigger movement by the adults, who leisurely strut about their enclosure as the little birds rush to the fence to greet visitors.

While it takes about a year for a baby flamingo’s soft gray down to molt into the beautiful pink and coral feathers that make a flamingo so distinctive, the process is beginning on these little ones. Eversole extends one of Baron’s wings a bit and shows how he’s starting to get his pink, coral and white flight feathers. The underside edge of the wing is black, just as it is in the adults.

Flamingos can fly, but the zoo trims the birds’ wings so they don’t take off. If there is a strong wind and they hop the fence, the birds want to return to the enclosure because they are flock animals, Eversole said.

“We gently bring them back” if they need some help, she said.

During the day Pinecone and Baron roam the flamingo exhibit, which has an island where their nests were built and a large pond. At night the little ones are safely tucked into the flamingo building.

“There are still (wild) hawks, raptor and mink” that roam the area, Eversole said.

Journal photo by Jordan Wald

Above, Baron – named for the team – eventually came about after the Barons donated the soil, called pitcher’s clay. Event Chair Team: Stephanie Cooper, Co-Chair; Alex Morton, First Horizon; Nancy Goedecke, Honorary Chair; Dr. Anthony C. Hood, Co-Chair; and Rosemary Alexander, Co-Chair.

Wild at Heart: Rhino Crash Zoo Fundraiser Set for Sept. 8

The Birmingham Zoo is debuting a reimagined version of its marquee fundraising event on Sept. 8 – Wild at Heart: Rhino Crash.

No, this isn’t a rhinoceros showdown. Crash is what a group of rhinos is called.

The event will feature an evening at the zoo’s plaza with food, an auction, open bar and live music by Yacht Rock Schooner, according to a zoo news release.

The event, presented by First Horizon Bank, will be from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., with entry at 5:30 p.m. for VIP ticket holders.

Guests are invited to dress in “wild chic,” expressing their inner party animal in their favorite feathers, stripes, spots or scales. The zoo’s Instagram account, @bhamzoo, offers fashionable ideas.

Honorary chairs for the event are the Collat and Goedecke families, wellknown, longtime Birmingham-area philanthropists. The Collat family owns Mayer Electric Supply Company Inc.

Event co-chairs are Rosemary Alexander, Stephanie Cooper and Dr. Anthony C. Hood.

General admission tickets are $250 each, or $1,000 for a “crash” of five. Animal encounter/VIP tickets with an exclusive animal experience and access to the Watering Hole, which includes a private bar, balcony and indoor access, are $425, with only 50 spots available. Watering Hole/VIP tickets are $350 each.

For more information, or to get tickets, go to www.birminghamzoo.com/ event/wildatheart.

Altamont Celebrates Centennial on Sept 10

The Altamont School will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding as The Birmingham University School on Sept. 10, according to a school news release.

The evening event will be held at the school, which will include a dinner.

The school was founded in 1922 to provide college preparation for the sons of families driving Birmingham’s rapid physical, financial and cultural growth. In 1975, it joined with the Brooke Hill School for Girls to form The Altamont School.

Altamont plans later this fall to dedicate a historical marker at the former Birmingham University School building on 28th Street.

Those who are interested in attending the celebration or who want more information can go to www.buscentennial.com or contact the organizers at 100years@altamontschool.org.