An unlikely oddity: Flamingo that landed in N.L. on display at The Rooms
On an island full of oddities, it can take a lot to make a splash.
But 40 years after a pair of flamingos touched down in Newfoundland, one of the birds is still the talk of the town.
The flamingo, easier to imagine on a sandy beach down south than off the North Atlantic, is mounted and now on display as part of a new exhibition at The Rooms in St. John's.
Discovered by curator Mireille Eagan, the taxidermy flamingo was hidden deep inside the gallery's collection.
"The fact that it's been taxidermied in such an elegant way is fascinating," she said.
"It was stored under a staircase for a little while after it was acquired and then had been hidden away."
Landed in Woodstock
The flamingo was shot on sight near Woodstock, N.L., in 1977 by duck hunter Harry Mitchell.
"I was probably 21. It was bird season … a nice bright Sunday morning." he said. "I saw a couple birds there in the brook so I just went out and shot one."
Never expecting to see a flamingo in his neck of the woods, Mitchell was shocked when he found out what he shot.
"How would it come in your mind that it was a flamingo? It's never heard of."
The other flamingo, a male that had mated for life with the female bird, flew away and was never seen in Newfoundland again.
On display at The Rooms
The flamingo is now prominently displayed as part of the exhibit In Some Far Place at The Rooms, which includes other oddities like a two-headed baby seal and a cod skeleton that looks like Jesus.
But even among those fine sights, the pink flamingo stands out, sitting in a glass case in the middle of the exhibit.
And nearly everyone who sees the bird for the first time has the same question: how did it get here?
"I have no idea," said Egan. "To the northern coast of Newfoundland? It's just so strange."
Theories abound, including one that the flamingos were blown off course from a storm or escaped from a travelling zoo.
In any case, the mystery endures.
And for hunter Mitchell, 40 years after shooting what he thought was a goose on a routine hunting trip, it remains his claim to fame.
"People still ask me if I remember and things like that," he said.
"If you say oh yeah … I shot a flamingo. They say what? [They're] really amazed by it."
