Navi Mumbai: The winter-summer avian guests flamingos have begun to arrive in Mumbai kindling enthusiasm among environment lovers. However, environmentalists say the pink birds are much fewer in number as compared to previous seasons.
“Just about two dozen flamingos were noticed at Vashi and TS Chanakya wetland in Nerul over the past couple of days,” NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar said, adding, And the numbers are expected to rise over the next month or so.”
The International Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May and October signifying their migration seasons. In the Mumbai region, they begin to arrive in October-November and stay till about June when the monsoon sets in.
“Flamingos literally swarm the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS), which is the only Ramsar site – a wetland of international significance. But over the years, their number has been reducing. As compared to some 4.5 lakh birds five years ago, close to 1.3 lakhs in 2022, statistics from BNHS show,” Kumar added.
Green groups are concerned over the deterioration of flamingo destinations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the past few years. The Thane creek itself gets polluted with industrial and urban effluents and despite repeated complaints there is little or nil action from the authorities, Nandakumar Pawar, head of Sagar Shakti said.
Of the six wetlands in Navi Mumbai, three – Belpada, Bhendkhal and Panje in Uran – have been destroyed by landfill and blocking of intertidal water flow. Stagnant water with plenty of moss and muck at NRI wetland and DPS Flamingo Lake makes the water bodies highly flamingo unfriendly, environmentalists allege.
Several flamingos have in fact died in May-June as they strayed outside the wetlands and onto main roads, probably in search of food as the DPS lake dried up due to the blocking of intertidal water flow by vested interests. “Navi Mumbai has acquired the nickname of flamingo city and this identity faces crisis now,” Kumar added.
