Mumbai is witnessing the arrival of Flamingos, the avian guests but the numbers are yet to increase. The arrival of the flamingos have been confirmed by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and environmentalists.
As per a BNHS count, during the winter of 2021-22, a record over 1,33,000 flamingos landed at the now Ramsar wetland site-tagged TCFS but the numbers are less during the current season. However, they expect the numbers to go up. According to the BNHS Deputy Director Dr Rahul Khot, large numbers are expected by March.
In Mumbai, Flamingos were first spotted in 1994. During the winters, two types of birds of this species Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and Lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) could be spotted in Mumbai-MMR.
Most of the birds arrive from the Great Rann of Kutch in neighbouring Gujarat. Besides the Great Rann of Kutch, they are also seen in Point Calimere in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, Chilka in Orissa and Sambhar in Rajasthan. In Maharashtra a few are also spotted in Solapur and Aurangabad.
“We have miles to go in terms of securing our biodiversity as the wetlands, mangroves and the hills face constant threats even from the government-owned agencies such as CIDCO and PWD,” B N Kumar, Director of NatConnect Foundation told Deccan Herald.
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