Gabrielle Russon
A baby flamingo honks like a turkey at an Orlando attraction off the beaten path. He (or maybe she — a DNA test is needed to say for sure) is nothing but a pile of fuzzy, gray feathers. Someday this little critter will get its pink color.
Meet Charlie, one of the 23 flamingos at Discovery Cove.
The SeaWorld-owned park recently opened a new flamingo habitat where guests can meet and feed the beloved birds.
“People love flamingos,” said Debbie Wilkinson-Borno, one of the veteran tour guides at the park who hosts WWE wrestlers and reality stars on their visits.
Discovery Cove feels far away from the roaring roller coasters and the churning water slides at most Orlando tourist attractions. It’s more like a resort with all-you-can-eat food and drink included in the ticket admission and enough palm trees to feel like a jungle. Guests don’t pay extra for free animal-friendly sunscreen, towels, lockers and parking that are also included in admission. Upgrades are sold for cabanas, frozen cocktails and some of the animal experiences.
Here, the park only holds up to 1,600 people at a time, so it’s possible for visitors to get close to the animals in this more intimate setting. You can feed birds in the aviary, touch a dolphin or meet Charlie’s clan in the expanded Flamingo Point habitat that opened in late Spring. There are no rides here, unless you count the lazy river.
Discovery Cove, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, is a hidden gem, employees say.
Perhaps it’s no longer such a secret anymore. Bookings are up this year compared to last year, SeaWorld executives said in February during a company earnings call.
One of the newest exhibits to entice visitors is the new flamingo habitat.
On a recent media visit, the flamingos are acting spicier than usual. It’s mating season, after all. They don’t want anyone messing with their partners.
One flamingo preens a woman with long blonde hair. The woman doesn’t mind. This is photographic gold.
Guests hold out bowls with water and pellet food and the four flamingos do their awkward walk on their long legs, waltzing around from bowl to bowl to feed. Some flamingos are more mild-mannered while others are louder and more outgoing. They confidently ignore humans’ personal space.
In his pen, Little Charlie is not far from the group who is feeding the bigger and older flamingos. He is kept apart to keep him safe from the others, including his parents. Later this Summer, the three-week-old baby flamingo will be out there with the rest of the flock.
