Exclusive: Flamingos not ready to give Mumbai the pink slip yet

A huge flock of greater flamingos have made Lokhandwala lake their home. Pic/Yogesh Patel

There's good news for anyone who missed out on watching flamingos in the city this year - the pink visitors have decided to stay on a little longer. While their season in Mumbai is usually from November to May, huge flocks of greater flamingos have stayed back this time. While some credit the abundance of silt and food in the city for this, others fear that habitat loss in Gujarat might be to blame for the delayed migration.

Every year, thousands of flamingos descend upon mudflats in Mumbai and Thane in November, eventually migrating back to Gujarat in May. Of the 30,000-odd birds that fly here every winter, usually only 10% are greater flamingos (distinguished by long curved neck and black tip of the beak), and the majority are lesser flamingos (smaller and brighter).

Birder Yogesh Patel spotted this huge flock of greater flamingos in Lokhandwala

Plenty of food here
This year, however, has brought an unusually high number of greater flamingos to the city, and many of them have stayed on past the migration season. In the last couple of weeks, huge flocks have been spotted at the Lokhandwala mangroves, Malad Creek and the Gorai belt.

Veteran birder Adesh Shivkar told mid-day, "Over the years, the population of flamingos coming to Mumbai has increased. Mumbai has a lot of silt, which is ideal for feeding."

"Around 90% have returned to Gujarat and Saurashtra, and the remaining 10% are mostly juveniles and sub-adults that are the part of the non-breeding population," said Shivkar, suggesting that the abundance of food might have tempted the less experienced younglings to extend their stay in Mumbai and not risk migration. However, there are a fair number of adults that have not migrated either, and this presents a more worrying theory: "The delayed migration might also hint to habitat loss in Gujarat and Saurashtra, and this factor needs to be studied," said Shivkar.

Conversely, the flamingos were also late to arrive in Mumbai this year, thanks to good rainfall in the Gujarat belt last year, leading to an extended stay there.

Habitat in trouble?
On Thursday, wildlife lover Ankit Vyas was surprised to spot a huge flock of flamingos at Gorai creek so late in the season. Birder Yogesh Patel, too, spotted a flock of around 100 flamingos at Lokhandwala a few days ago. "I have been birding regularly since 2014, and this is the first time I came across such a huge flock here. I am happy to see this bird in my backyard, but also feel sad about their habitat being destroyed by illegal fishing activities and illegal waste and debris dumping," said Patel, who is working on a birding app called Vannya, which provides detailed information about all Indian birds.

Speaking of habitat destruction, some bird enthusiasts have theorised that the increased sighting of flamingos at Andheri, Malad and Gorai might be due to human interference at their primary stomping grounds in Sewri. They have suggested that the construction of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) along the Sewri mudflats might have driven the birds to find a new home. However, experts are not convinced with this theory.

Shivkar said, "It would be wrong to say that the flamingos might have flown there from Sewri due to disturbance from the MTHL bridge work. The Thane Creek flamingo sanctuary is huge and has a good habitat, so the birds spotted at Lokhandwala, Malad and Gorai might be a different population altogether."

Migration pattern
Every November, more than 30,000 flamingos, along with their chicks, touch down in Mumbai and Thane, and occupy the mudflats and bordering mangroves. In May, most of them migrate to Bhuj, Gujarat, for breeding, leaving a small resident population behind here.

Also read: Mumbai: Bird lover spots greater flamingoes at Malad creek

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