Highest count of greater flamingos recorded in MMR in 2021-22

Nagpur: The highest number of greater flamingos has been recorded across Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s (MMR) mudflats, creeks and wetlands in 2021–2022 since monitoring of these birds began.
Researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a pan-India wildlife research organization which has been tracking and tagging flamingos since 2018, claimed between December 2021 and March 2022, the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) witnessed 54,000 greater flamingos while Sewri and Nhava saw 17,000 and 227, respectively — juvenile (5%) and sub-adult (21%) proportions were lower than those of adults across the three regions.
This is a sharp increase since previous years, especially last year (2020-21) when the greater flamingo abundance was the lowest (324-569) across all three regions and less than 2% of the population recorded in the preceding two years.
“Last couple of years we observed a smaller number of greater flamingos. One of the reasons might be our inability to conduct surveys from March to May due to the pandemic restrictions. The highest number of flamingos is generally observed during these three months,” said Rahul Khot, deputy director, BNHS.
“We are currently investigating the reasons for this sharp increase. Greater flamingos prefer freshwater and estuary environments, which Mumbai offers plenty, thanks to its creeks and inland wetlands. Also, the sort of food they might be getting here may make this ecosystem more appealing to them. These birds are filter feeders, mainly feeding on algae and small crustaceans which are responsible for their pink colouration,” said Khot.
Researchers also documented a unique mating ritual for flamingos across wetland patches as tourists beat the heat to catch a glimpse of the dance in pink. It’s that time of year when the pink-winged guests flock to the MMR mudflats, creeks and wetlands in vast numbers, offering a spectacle for all to relish. But there is something distinctly unique about their arrival this year.
Of the six species of flamingos in the world, two are found in India: the tallest of them, the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) and the smallest one, the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). Greater flamingos are taller, with black-tipped light pinkish beaks, yellowish eyes and pinkish-white body colour. Their neck is in a perfect S-shape while the lesser flamingos are comparatively smaller, more pinkish with dark beaks and red eyes. Their neck is inverted (J-shaped). Majority of flamingos that come to Mumbai are lesser flamingos while the rest are the greater flamingos.
The details were presented to the Mangrove Foundation recently. Since 2017, BNHS is conducting flamingo surveys in the region as a part of a decadal survey project (up to 2027) to map and count Mumbai’s migratory birds and to study the impacts of the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link on flamingos and other avifauna in the Thane Creek, Sewri, Nhava and surrounding areas as well as to identify mitigation measures. This long-term project is funded by MMRDA and is being monitored by Mangrove Foundation.
“In previous years, the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary has reported over one lakh flamingos, including this exceptional record of the maximum number of greater flamingos this year. We intend to protect these migratory birds and their habitat for posterity. We had also proposed certification of TCFS for Ramsar Site (Wetlands of International Importance) and the same has been cleared by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray,” said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), Mangrove Cell.
Flamingos usually visit MMR wetlands from breeding sites in the Gujarat region as well as Iran from November to May mostly for feeding purposes. Migration from breeding grounds starts after the monsoon when water-filled regions start drying up. However, owing to the good availability of water over the past few years through winter, arrivals have been delayed.
“BNHS’ annual flamingo monitoring exercise was undertaken this year in March-April for the first time since 2018 owing to successive lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Approximately 1.33 lakh flamingos were observed this year (during April) across the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS), Sewri-Nhava and adjacent zones,” said Khot.
In comparison, 1.03 lakh flamingos were spotted in 2020-21 (during February), 96,400 during 2019-20 (February), and 1.20 lakh during 2018-19 (March). The number of lesser flamingos from December 2021-March 2022 has been 65,000 at TCFS, 25,000 at Sewri and 9,000 at Nhava. The population of this species has witnessed a marginal increase across all three locations this year, said BNHS.
As thousands of tourists thronged parts of TCFS and other creek areas in MMR to catch a glimpse of the sea of pink, researchers, as a part of this study, also documented a unique behaviour of the lesser flamingos termed the ‘Flamingo March’ or ‘Dance of the Flamingos’.
“This breeding behaviour of the lesser flamingos is particularly observed during April end to May, which is just days before departing for their nesting sites. Over the last few years this behaviour has also been observed from NRI Wetlands complex, Navi Mumbai and Mahul-Sewri mudflats, Mumbai,” said Siddhesh Surve from Mangrove Foundation.