Hatch Day!

Lindy (on the right) was part of the pair of baby flamingos I helped get accustomed to humans and become a part of their flock. To get them used to people we walked with them once a day. At first it was inside, gradually as they got older we ventured outside.

Lindy was at first smaller than Calypso, because she is older than him. But you'll notice he grows quickly into the same size as her and surpasses her eventually since he is a male.

He used to be soooo little and fluffy!

This was one of the greatest moments of my life. Interacting with flamingo chicks that were only a couple weeks old. I was determined to be a flamingo mom because our male flamingo in our flock, Mambo, is not my biggest fan.

Lindy got tired on one of his first walks outside.

This was a big moment! It was time to go on a much longer walk with the adult flamingos. Lindy is on the right, you can tell since he's still really fluffy compared to Calypso.

Walking outside like a pro.

One of the first times they went to the outdoor habitat. I spent a lot of time talking to the babies in hopes one would remember my voice and call back and maybe consider me their mom. I think it worked with Lindy. He's always interested in me when I'm talking or calls back when I call to him.

"Hi mom."

Merp.

Flamingos and birds in general grow very fast. As you can see Lindy grew up to be the tall male he is determined to be. Male greater flamingos can be about 5 feet tall. He might grow a little bit more.

Flamingos love to preen hair. They probably think that it's a feather out of place and it needs to be put back where it came from.

Lindys wingspan and his bright wing feathers! It takes about 3-4 years for a flamingo to turn completely pink from beak to feet. So while his wing feathers are already pink he will still remain a dull grey for a few more years.

Here he is in the habitat. I called out to him and he called back and came a little closer to get a look at me.

Sorry for the selfie but look at him.

Here he is swimming. Flamingos swimming is the funniest thing to me since their legs are so long.

Lindy finds phones very interesting and loves to preen on them. Because of that sometimes cool pictures are taken.

Happy Hatch Day Lindy!!