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If you want to know when and where are the best places in the Yucatán to find flamingos, you might discover that the internet delivers more confusion than answers.
I’m here to help clear it up. Basically, I researched the right answers so you don’t have to.
Let’s start with the good news. There are about 30,000 Caribbean, also known as American, Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) living in the Yucatán Peninsula. While a few of the members of this colony have been found 200 miles away in Florida and Texas, these flamingos generally seem pretty content to hang out in Mexico. They spend their time shuttling along the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula between the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve and the Celestún Biosphere Reserve.
So if you try even a little bit, you are likely to see at least some flamingos on the northern Yucatán coast!
In this post I will start with some fun facts about flamingos and provide guidance about when and where to find them on your Yucatán adventure.
Don’t care about flamingo facts? Skip ahead to where to see flamingos in the Yucatán.
Fun Flamingo Facts
Flamingos live throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America and are known for their striking pink feathers, long neck and legs, and graceful movements. But these majestic birds are also fascinating creatures with unique behaviors and habits.
The first fun fact is that a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance or colony. There are a few other terms used but these are the most common ones.
Let’s explore some other fun facts about flamingos, including their feeding habits, mating rituals, nesting behavior, and the lifecycle of their young!
Colors
Flamingo males and females have the same coloration.
The bright orangy-pink color of flamingos’ feathers comes from pigments in their food. These pigments, called carotenoids, are found in the algae and other small organisms that flamingos eat, and they accumulate in the feathers, skin, and beaks of the birds over time.
Flamingos have 12 black principal flight feathers on the underside their wings. The black color comes from a pigment called melanin. These black feathers are most visible when the birds are in flight or when they stretch their wings. The black feathers provide a visual contrast to the pink feathers on the birds’ bodies, which can help to increase their visibility and deter potential predators.
If you see a slender pink bird in the sky and it doesn’t have the black feathers, it’s probably a roseate spoonbill!
Adult flamingos have yellow eyes (so cool!).
Baby flamingos have grey eyes and feathers until one to two years old when they also reach full size.
Physique
In addition to their distinctive flashy coloring, flamingos have some other physical characteristics that make them stand out.
The average Caribbean flamingo is one of the larger flamingo species, coming in at five feet tall and weighing 4-8 pounds (so light!).
The flamingo wingspan typically ranges from 31 to 65 inches, with Caribbean flamingos on the higher end of that range.
Flamingo legs are typically 32 to 49 inches long. What looks like the flamingos’ knees are actually their ankles! Their knees are tucked up way under their feathers so you can’t see them.
Assuming they survive to adulthood, which about 70 percent of flamingos do, the average lifespan of a Caribbean flamingo is 40 years in the wild to 60 years in captivity.
What do flamingos eat?
Flamingos are perfectly adapted to their unique diet and habitat.
Flamingos are filter feeders and primarily eat small aquatic organisms, such as algae, crustaceans, and tiny invertebrates like brine shrimp and plankton. The birds tilt their heads upside down to eat and use their uniquely shaped beaks to filter these small organisms from the water. Their beaks are adapted to strain out food while allowing water to flow back out.
Flamingos are able to extract nutrients efficiently from their food sources, thanks to their specialized digestive systems. They have long, convoluted intestines that allow them to absorb as many nutrients as possible from their food, and they can excrete excess salt from their bodies through special glands in their bills. This means they can feed with little competition in areas that other birds find too salty.
In order to consume the required 10 percent of their bodyweight daily, flamingos can spend about eight hours per day eating.
Mating and Breeding
Flamingos engage in synchronized breeding, meaning that all the flamingos in a colony engage in mating rituals at the around same time. Breeding together means they can raise their chicks together, which helps protect the colony.
In general, the timing of flamingo breeding season depends on rainfall, which impacts food supply. Some colonies might not mate at all in a low-rain season. In the Yucatán the timing seems to be somewhat reliable as the area is constantly fed with fresh water from underground aquifers, but there are of course no guarantees.
Flamingo pairs tend to be monogamous, but have been known to sometimes mate with more than one partner over time.
You’ll know when the courting begins when you see flamingos getting flirty with ritual stretching and preening in groups. The males flock together and race around with bills up and necks out to impress their crushes. When there is mutual interest, these flamingo lovebirds call to each other in sync.
Just like on Bumble, when she finds a good mate the female initiates the first date…by walking away from the group. The male follows her away from the group. Then she stops, drops her head and spreads her wings. Things get steamy as the male mounts the female from behind, using her wing joints as a launchpad.
After doing the deed, the male springs off his mate’s back with an elegant leap over her head.
Now it’s time to build the nest.
Nesting
Male and female flamingos work together to build their nest in shallow water in wetland areas. It takes up to six weeks to build the nest, which is a mound of mud, shells, straw, and stones. The nest is about one foot tall to protect it from flooding. They make a dent at the top of the nest where the female lays the egg, a little larger than a chicken egg.
Each mating couple produces only one egg per season.
While the egg is in the nest, the parents keep adding mud to protect it. The male and female flamingos take turn sitting on the egg and turning it. If the egg falls off the nest, it’s game over for the egg.
Incubation and Hatching
It takes about 28 days to incubate a flamingo egg. In the days before the chick is ready to hatch, it starts making vocalizations that help its parents learn to recognize their baby’s voice early on.
When the chick is ready to hatch, it takes about one day to emerge while their parents attentively poke and nibble at the egg. The chick emerges, about the size of a fluffy grey tennis ball. Once out of the nest, the chick stays in the nest for five to eight days. During this time, it is a funny looking creature with a pink bill and chubby pink legs. The legs slim down within a few days and turn black within a week.
Nursing
After emerging from their eggs, chicks are initially fed by both parents with a special liquid called “crop milk” for four to six weeks. This bright red crop milk, regurgitated from the upper digestive tract, is similar to human milk in composition and provides chicks with all the nutrients they need. Flamingo parents will only feed their own chicks. After all, they know them by their distinct vocalizations.
But socialization also starts young. Synchronized breeding allows for synchronized nursing and raising of flamingo chicks, which is essential to protect the colony. After 12-ish days hanging out in the nest with their parents, chicks join nurseries, or large groups called creches, where they gradually learn to swim and feed on their own by filtering small organisms from the water using their beaks.
While they spend their days hanging out with their young flamingo friends, chicks still stay close to their parents for several months.
Adolescence
Starting at around 11 weeks, chicks grow their flight feathers (aka, they fledge) and start learning to fly. Their feathers are grey for the first few years but gradually turn pink as they consume more pigments from their beta carotenoid-heavy food.
It takes about 6 years before a flamingo starts breeding. And the cycle starts all over again.
Vocalizations
You might hear flamboyance of flamingos flying overhead before you see them—they are so chatty!
Flamingos are social birds that often communicate with one another using a variety of vocalizations. While we may not fully understand the specific meaning of flamingos’ calls when they fly, these vocalizations play an important role in the birds’ social lives and help them to communicate and cooperate with one another.
The specific calls that flamingos make when they fly vary depending on the situation. For example, they murmur contentedly when wading through wetlands. When a flamboyance is taking off, the birds may make a loud, raucous chorus of calls that can be heard from a distance. This is thought to be a way for the birds to signal their intentions to take off and coordinate their movements.
As the birds fly, they may continue to make calls to communicate with one another and maintain their formation. Scientists have also observed that flamingos will sometimes engage in “unison calling,” where multiple birds will call at the same time. This behavior likely helps strengthen social bonds between members of the flamboyance and may also serve to intimidate potential predators.
Either way, it’s both impressive and hilarious to hear them chit-chatting away while they fly!
Flamingos: Do Not Disturb!
There is one more thing you need to know before you embark on a flamingo-spotting tour: it is very important to not disturb flamingos in their natural habitat.
Flamingos are very sensitive and skittish creatures. If you get too close, especially problematic during nesting season, and you freak out even one flamingo, they might all panic and fly away. They might even abandon the colony, eggs and all, thereby losing a whole generation of flamingos.
If you go on a tour, make sure you are going with a reputable guide who will respect the flamingos’ privacy (minimum 50 meters viewing distance), and always follow your guide’s lead.
Where is the best place to see flamingos in the Yucatán?
The Yucatan Peninsula is home to several great places to see flamingos, but two of the most popular and accessible are the shallow waters of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera de Ría Lagartos) and the Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera de Celestún).
Both areas have been protected for almost 50 years. In 1979 Mexico recognized the threats to the dwindling flamingo population and designated the two estuaries (rías) as conservation areas. In 2004 UNESCO designated both estuaries as Biosphere Reserves.
Flamingos in the Yucatan split their time mostly between these two protected areas, rich in the food they love to eat with ideal conditions for raising their young. Both reserves are well-regulated to protect the flamingos and other wildlife. Visitors should follow the rules and guidelines to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all, especially the birds.
Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve
The Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is located on the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, and is considered one of the most important flamingo habitats in the Americas. In addition to flamingos, visitors to the reserve can see a variety of other bird species, as well as crocodiles, sea turtles, and other wildlife. Visitors can take boat tours from Río Lagartos through the mangrove-lined waterways to see the flamingos up close (but not too close!).
Don’t confuse the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve with Río Lagartos, the town on the western edge of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve! Ría means “estuary”, río means “river”, and lagartos means “lizard”, in this case referring to the many crocodiles that once lived here.
The Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is where flamingos mate, nest, and raise their chicks in spring and summer. You can generally find flamingos in Ría Lagartos between March and November.
The Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is accessible from the towns of Río Lagartos, Las Coloradas, and El Cuyo.
Celestún Biosphere Reserve
The Celestún Biosphere Reserve is located on the western coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, and is another important flamingo habitat. The Celestún reserve features a series of lagoons and estuaries where flamingos feed, and visitors can take boat tours from the town of Celestún to see them. The reserve is also home to a variety of other bird species, as well as sea turtles and other marine life.
The Celestún Biosphere Reserve is the flamingos’ fall and winter feeding ground. You can generally find flamingos in Celestún between November and March.
The Celestún Biosphere Reserve is accessible from the town of Celestún.
When is the best time to see flamingos in the Yucatán?
Good news: since flamingos split their time between the two reserves year-round, you can basically see flamingos any time!
So, depending on the time of year you are visiting, you can pick the location with a higher likelihood of seeing larger flamboyances of flamingos.
Flamingos typically hang out in Ría Lagartos from March to November for mating season. Flamingo chicks typically hatch between June and August. Young flamingos take their first flights in July and should be flying properly by October. Watching baby flamingos hatch and grow is a special experience, but disturbing the birds can harm their nesting and feeding behaviors. Because of this, the nesting areas in Ría Lagartos are restricted to visitors during these times to avoid any disturbances to the colony. So don’t get your hopes up about being able to spot fluffy flamingo chicks!
In November the flamingos migrate back to Celestún to feed in mangrove swamps and estuaries until around March.
That said, you might want to avoid the migration months of March and November, as locations will be less predictable and flamingos will be less settled in. That said, those are great months to see flying flamingos!
The exact timing of flamingo migration varies depending on factors such as weather conditions and food availability. It is always a good idea to check with local wildlife authorities or tour operators for the most up-to-date information on flamingo sightings in the area. For example, we were in Celestún in early March and the flamingos were already long gone from the mangroves—although we still saw plenty overhead.
What is the best way to see flamingos in the Yucatán?
The best way to see flamingos up close (ish) is on a boat tour. Going earlier in the day is better for wildlife viewing and also spares you the midday sun.
Flamingo Boat Tour
Flamingo boat tours are primarily run out of the towns of Celestún and Río Lagartos.
There’s usually no need to plan ahead; you should be able to just show up and jump on a tour. Just know that many of these boat tours charge for the whole boat, not per person, so you might end up paying more than you want or having to wait for more people to show up before heading out.
The cost of a flamingo tour is around MX$2400 per boat (as of January 2023), and boats typically can carry 6-8 people. Tours usually run for about 1.5-2 hours and may also include additional activities such as swimming in a cenote or visits to mangroves and other attractions in the area.
In addition to the flamingos, you can expect to see diverse birds such as herons, egrets, ibises, and pelicans—and crocodiles!
If you are short on time or planning a day trip from Cancun or Mérida, you should consider booking your tour in advance to ensure availability. The cost of a day tour typically includes transportation, guide services, and sometimes drinks or snacks.
In the wild in Las Coloradas
You might also see a few flamingos poking around in the pink salt lakes when you visit Las Coloradas. While people are not allowed in the lakes, the flamingos come and go as they please, scooping up that yummy briny shrimp.
In the air in Sisal
While you won’t get a close up view, you might also have the good fortune to see endless flamboyances of chatty flamingos flying overhead as you relax on the beach in Sisal.
What to Bring on Your Yucatán Flamingo Boat Tour
It’s hot and humid in the Yucatán at pretty much any time of year, so you need to come prepared for any activity.
Hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen: The sun is strong and bright in the Yucatán, and out on the water there won’t be any shade. That means that a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen (preferably eco-friendly or biodegradable) are a must. Besides, a hat might help keep the inevitable bad hair day (from all that humidity) in check.
Bug spray: You’ll be in the wetlands, so there will be bugs. Come prepared with bug spray (preferably eco-friendly or biodegradable) and protective clothing.
Bathing suit: You might end up on a tour that offers an opportunity to swim in a cenote. If the fact that there are crocodiles in the area doesn’t scare you, come prepared with a bathing suit.
Water: Don’t underestimate how thirsty you will get out on the water for a few hours. Bring plenty of water or other liquids with you.
Camera with long lens: You can’t get too close to the flamingos, so if you want good pictures, you will need a proper camera with a long lens. I recommend at least 300mm. Don’t forget to bring enough batteries and data storage. You will probably take a zillion pictures and you don’t want to run out of either one. If you are happy looking at other people’s pictures, Flamingo is an amazing book of photos of Yucatán flamingos by Claudio Contreras Koob.
Binoculars: If you are a hard-core birder, I know you already have your binoculars packed! This is a great place to put them to use.
Bird guide: In addition to being dazzled by copious pink feathers, you are going to see a lot of bird species in these reserves. Your guide will be able to identify most birds and might even have a bird guide handy for you to look at. But if you want to make notes and have a reference for later, come prepared with your own bird guide or bird identification app.
Additional Flamingo Resources
If you want to read more about flamingos in the Yucatán, here are some interesting articles and resources.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library American Flamingo fact sheet
Seaworld Animal Info about flamingos
Birdfact.com information about baby flamingos (with great pictures)
Colossal article about the making of the Flamingo photo book by Claudio Contreras Koob
CNN article about the making of the Flamingo photo book by Claudio Contreras Koob
Royal Resorts Ría Lagartos flamingo tour trip report
Final Thoughts
The Yucatán is a flamingo-lovers paradise! From murals in towns to kitchy souvenirs to massive flamboyances of actual flamingos in the water and in the air, the northern coast of the Yucatán peninsula is truly a pink paradise!
You’ll find them any time of year, balancing on one leg, preening, and chit-chatting through the skies.
Flamingo lovers, it’s time to plan your trip to the Yucatán now!
