Flamingo flies from Mumbai to Little Rann in 25 hours

The route taken by the juvenile greater flamingo named Lester. Pic/BNHS

A juvenile greater flamingo covered 500 km from Mumbai to Little Rann of Kutch in 25 hours, as per a study conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society. So far, four radio-tagged flamingos have reached Gujarat from Mumbai.

BNHS on July 29 tweeted, "Our fourth radio-tagged flamingo reaches Gujarat - Lester, a juvenile greater flamingo, named after famed naturalist Capt C D Lester, has reached Little Rann. The bird covered the 500 km distance from Mumbai in 25 hours."

As part of what is being termed as an important study, scientists associated with BNHS had captured a total of six flamingos at high tide roosting sites between January and April this year. After capturing them, solar powered GPS-GSM tags were put on the bird after which they were released.

The researchers have found that after tagging, the birds were roaming in the vicinity of Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary and the adjoining wetland areas, a popular spot among wildlife and bird lovers. It may be noted that thousands of flamingos are spotted in the area between September and May.

The study is being carried out by BNHS along with Maharashtra Forest Department as part of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) impact assessment project to know how the lesser and greater flamingos migrate and utilise the area.

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The study will also help researchers understand the migration path of flamingos and in planning better conservation strategies for the migratory birds.

The third radio-tagged flamingo named McCann, named after eminent naturalist, prolific writer and former assistant curator at BNHS Charles McCann, a juvenile greater flamingo, left Thane Creek on July 14 and landed at Ghogha near Bhavnagar the next morning.

Similarly Salim, a lesser flamingo, named after the legendary Dr Salim Ali, left the shores of Mumbai on July 6 evening and landed near Bhavnagar in Gujarat on the morning of July 7, joining Humayun who had earlier reached there from Mumbai.

On July 2, BNHS had tweeted, "Humayun flies from Bombay to Bhavnagar. Named after one of the BNHS stalwarts Humayun Abdul Ali, this lesser flamingo is being tracked by BNHS through a GPS-GSM tag on its back."

500km
Approx. distance from Mumbai to Little Rann of Kutch

Juvenile bird

A juvenile bird is one that is at a stage where it is capable of fending for itself but still partly relies on parents for food and protection, like a teenager.