Flamingos spotted near Sanibel Causeway as Hurricane Idalia moves away from SWFL

Nature works in funny ways, doesn't it?

One minute there's a nasty Category 3 hurricane swirling around out in the Gulf of Mexico. And then before you know it, the hurricane - this one was named Idalia - is gone and if you are Sanibel resident Jennifer Sparks you are looking out your car window and see something you haven't seen before.

PHOTOS: See the images of the flamingos Jennifer Sparks took

A bunch of gorgeous flamingos chilling out on a patch of sand just off the Sanibel Causeway. For Sparks, a Sanibel resident for eight years, timing was everything on Wednesday morning. She and her husband were driving on the causeway around 10:30 a.m. and she thought "my mind was playing tricks on me."

Sparks said no one was driving behind them so her husband was able to slow down the car. She pulled out her Samsung phone and took the photos of the stunning creatures.

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"My husband and are were just both amazed," Sparks said. "I felt so lucky to be able to see them. Flamingos are my favorite bird to see them in the wild here was just incredible."

Sparks' excellent photos of the flamingos (a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance) have been shared on various Facebook groups all day on Wednesday (Aug 30). It's not surprising because the American flamingo is not often seen in this part of the state, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (FWC)

According to FWC, in Florida, American flamingos have been observed along much of the state’s coast; however, outside of Hialeah, more than 95% of observations have occurred within the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys. In addition, flamingos are increasingly being reported in the shallow treatment wetlands created along the northern fringe of the Everglades.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Flamingos spotted near Sanibel florida after Hurricane Idalia