BNHS study reveals 1,21,000 flamingos in Mumbai

Today is marked as the World Wetlands Day to mark the adoption of Convention on Wetlands on 2nd February 1971.

There is some good news for nature and wildlife lovers in Mumbai on the World Wetland Day as a survey by BNHS on flamingoes have revealed some interesting details. BNHS study reveals 1,21,000 flamingos in Mumbai.

It should be noted that BNHS has been monitoring wetlands and migratory birds, especially flamingos, under it's long-term project. The positive news is also that January census shows increase in number of flamingos.

In a press release issued to the media it has been staged that there are 1,21,000 flamingos inhabiting Mumbai. These results were concluded from the flamingo census conducted in January 2019. The study shows that the number of lesser flamingos are on the rise while those of greater flamingos are declining.

In a first comprehensive study on flamingos around Mumbai, BNHS is conducting long term ecological studies on flamingos and other waders at the eastern sea front of Mumbai (Sewri-Nhava sea-scape) to understand the impact of developmental activities on these birds. This study also aims to study the feeding ecology and association of birds with Macro benthic fauna (tiny organisms found in mud), impacts of anthropogenic activities and pollution on Macro benthos and waterbirds.

"It is very encouraging to see large number of flamingos arriving around Mumbai. This underlines the importance of the critical habitats in and around the Mumbai region. It also highlights the necessity of such long-term comprehensive studies to understand migratory birds and chart future conservation plans," said Rahul Khot, Principal Investigator of this project and Assistant Director, BNHS

Count Method

Both the banks of the Thane Creek (Vitava to Sewri and Vitava to JNPT) have been divided into transects of 1 kilometer each. All the transects were surveyed by multiple teams of researchers and assistants in hand-rowed boats to count Lesser and Greater Flamingos in one day. The surveys were conducted on three consecutive days to increase reliability of the counts.

Statistics

The above tables show the counts of Lesser and Greater Flamingos respectively. It can be observed that numbers of lesser flamingo are on the rise from October 2018 and currently at its peak with more than one lakh birds.

Also, a number of sub adult birds can be seen decreasing since May 2018. On the other hand, numbers of Greater Flamingos show a decreasing trend since October 2018. The increased number of the lesser flamingos could be due to the migration of a large number of birds during January 2019.

"It is excellent news. But it also means that we have to be more responsible and sensitive while planning development in the region. We also need to focus and work to clean the highly polluted eastern sea front so that we provide toxicity free habitat for flamingos and other migratory birds. This is indeed a positive news ahead of Convention on Migratory Species that will be hosted by Government of India in 2020" noted Dr. Deepak Apte, Director BNHS.

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