Pink birds invade Ephrata area

Ephrata Relay for Life team uses birds to raise funds

EPHRATA — Bill Sangster didn't expect to find a flock of tropical birds in his front yard one night earlier this week.

He did, however, end up catching about a dozen flamingos as they swooped down during their migration through Ephrata. He also happened to catch the people who brought the birds.

"I guess we caught the flock flying in," Sangster laughed, having just been "flocked" himself for a good cause.

Those pink lawn ornaments will become a familiar scene in Ephrata-area front yards between know and June. The Relay for Life Survivor Team plans on "flocking" citizens as a way to raise money for the June Relay. The Survivor Team is made up of more than 30 cancer survivors. Survivor Team member Dawn Lane said everyone is a possible candidate to be flocked, and it will only cost $10 to have the catch and release team rescue the birds from the yard.

After being flocked, a victim can also pay a $15 fee if they want to have the team flock a friend. Flocked citizens can also purchase flamingo insurance for $25, a way of making sure the birds don't find their way into a yard again for the rest of the year.

"Most of the people we flock," Lane said, "they pay the insurance so it doesn't come back."

Flamingos could find their way into people's yards between now and when the Relay for Life begins June 17.

"We usually flock anywhere from two to four people a night," Lane said, adding that the team will be going out most nights between now and the relay to surprise their targets.

"Police officers kind of look the other way," Lane laughed.

This is the third year the team has put on the fund-raiser. Survivor Team Captain Bobbi Crawford said she first heard of the idea being done by a church group in Iowa, and decided to bring it to Ephrata.

"It's really a lot of fun," said Crawford who said the survivor team often works at night in order to surprise their targets.

The flamingo migration is centered in the Ephrata area, but Lane said they have had to fly as far as Moses Lake and Othello for the flamingo migration. And Lane added that anybody can be a target. Most people are surprised by the yard ornaments, but Lane said they rarely get a fowl response. The survivor team is easy-going though, and Lane won't fret if someone can't pay.

The program continues to grow, and Crawford said the team raised more than $2,700 last year with just the flamingo fund-raiser alone.

Since his flamingo-watching experience a few nights ago, Sangster has since purchased the insurance, and he said he may soon find himself a yard for the survivor team to flock.

"I think it's a great thing," he said, "I think they hit on something that's fun."

If you want to have someone flocked, you can call Dawn Lane at 754-5855 or Bobbi Crawford at 754-4894.