BATON ROUGE - The famous flamingos of the Krewe of Spanish Town made their annual appearance on the LSU lakes Monday morning, signaling the return of Carnival season in the capital area. 

The iconic, hand-crafted birds reappeared on the water early Monday morning, with members of the Mardi Gras krewe planting them in the water under the cover of night. The pink flamingos have become a coveted trophy of sorts for those willing to wade out into the water to retrieve them.

The tradition started back in the 80s as a way to drum up interest in the Spanish Town Ball and has stuck around for decades. 

You can read more about this year's Spanish Town festivities here.