LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Islanders were tickled pink to see a rare and unusual visitor in a Little Compton marsh over the weekend.

An American flamingo was spotted wading through the water at Briggs Marsh, according to eBird , which is an app managed by Cornell University’s Lab of Orinthology .

Birders shared photographs on the app of the flamingo dating as far back as Thursday afternoon and as recently as Sunday afternoon.

The Rhode Island Audubon Society confirmed the sighting and told 12 News there are “no historical records of American flamingos in the state.”

“Audubon staff believe this is most likely the same American flamingo that was seen on Cape Cod ,” Rhode Island Audubon Society’s Hope Foley said.

It’s unclear exactly how the flamingo wound up in New England, since the birds don’t normally venture far from the tropics. However, expert birders believe the flamingo was one of several that were blown north when Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida last summer.

American flamingos are native to the Caribbean and have known breeding populations in Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission .

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