First flock of flamingos flies to city

First sighted in Mumbai in 1994, the flamingos have ever since been frequent visitors at the Airoli bridge, Mahul jetty, Sewri and Vashi jetty. Their visit usually begins in November-end. They leave the city by June with the first signs of monsoon.

Hemant Trivedi, a city based environmentalist pointed out that the birds’ visit does not depend as much upon the onset of winter in Mumbai as it does upon the weather conditions in Gujarat. “The birds thrive on a cool atmosphere, but cannot survive intense cold. That’s the reason why the birds originally took flight from Siberia. Now, we believe that a lot of flamingos have made their home in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. But when it gets too chilly there they leave to visit Mumbai”.

Trivedi explained further: “There is no record on the flamingo’s actual route, but we believe that a growing number of the birds have now settled in Gujarat — where food is abundant and the weather conditions are favourable for breeding. But at this time of the year, the dropping temperatures in Mumbai and the water level at the mudflats are perfect for these birds. The alkaline water is swarming with molluscs.”

Greater flamingos usually feed on molluscs and aquatic invertebrates as well as insects and larvae. They also feed on plant matter including seeds and marsh grasses. Lesser flamingos’ diet includes microscopic blue-green algae and diatoms. Last season experts had estimated that nearly 20,000 flamingos visited Mumbai, thanks to a good winter.

Bird watchers are now planning to hold programmes to educate people about flamingos and their habitat and alerting them of the ecological changes and how it may alter their visiting habits. Avinash Kubal, deputy director of Maharashtra Nature Park in Mahim said, “Apart from flamingos, several other migratory birds also visit Mumbai at this time. By next week we plan to organise bird watching trips to Mahul.”

Among the other migratory birds that have already started visiting the metropolis are the Open-bill stork and Spoon-bill stork, Kubal said.

“Most birds migrate from as far as Russia and north China,” he said.