While the pink plastic flamingo lawn ornaments were invented in Massachusetts, seeing an actual live flamingo out in the wild is basically unheard of here.

But that’s exactly what happened along Cape Cod over the weekend when people at Chapin Memorial Beach in Dennis were lucky enough to spot a flamingo in the water.

The flamingo on the Cape is believed to be the same one that was seen on Long Island last week.

“That’s crazy,” Pete Costello, assistant curator at Stone Zoo, told the Herald as he reacted to the flamingo sighting in Massachusetts. “It’s definitely a rare event… The first one I’ve ever heard of here.”

The flamingo may have been separated from its flock, and the bird is confused on its own, Costello said.

“It may have kept moving north looking for food and ended up here,” he added.

Flamingos eat tiny microscopic shrimp and different forms of algae, which give flamingos their pink color.

“This time of year, there would be enough food for them on the Cape,” Costello said. “In the wintertime, probably not.”

Flamingos like really warm waters in Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula, but the Cape’s cold waters are not a problem for them, added Costello of the Stoneham zoo — which has a big flock of 47 flamingos.

Like herons and cranes, flamingos fly relatively low just above the tree line along the coast.

Distant look at the American Flamingo on Long Island around sunset yesterday. This bird—the first on record in New York State—is believed to be on Cape Cod now.#birds #birding pic.twitter.com/ULZQloUODv

— JacquelineUWS (@jacquelineUWS) June 3, 2024

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Hurricane Idalia displaced flamingos last year, as some were seen as far north as Ohio and Pennsylvania.

This recent flamingo sighting along the Cape excited local bird watchers, who hoped to get another look at the wild animal.

“Does anyone know if the flamingo is still at Chapin Beach? That place is really hard to get into this time of year,” a Facebook user posted.

If anyone comes across a flamingo, they should leave it alone like with any wildlife, Costello said.

He added, “It should eventually head south on its own.”

The flamingo is believed to be the same one that was seen on Long Island last week. (Richard Gifford photo credit)