Flamingos are coming later every year for the party by the bayside

It’s that time of the year when the bird-loving population of Mumbai celebrates the arrival of its favourite feathered visitors - the lesser flamingos. Numbering over 20,000, the lesser flamingos, a species of migratory birds, usually arrive at the Sewri mudflats by October-end. However, this year, their visit is almost a month overdue. This, bird-watchers in the city say, could be cause for concern.

“We have noticed this trend for the past couple of years. There has been a four-to-five week shift in the arrival of the lesser flamingos,” said Sunjoy Monga, a naturalist and birding expert. Last year too, birders had expressed concern, before the flamingos finally arrived on November 22.

According to Monga, late breeding could be the reason for the delay. And late breeding, in turn, is a direct result of changing weather patterns. “You can blame it on the late rains. The Rann of Kutch region, which is the main breeding ground of the lesser flamingo’s received the heaviest rainfall in recent years, which could have resulted in late breeding,” he said.

The flamingos need a certain water level and a certain level of salinity of water for breeding. Excessive rainfall affects this level adversely, causing problems. Girish Jathar, scientist-in-charge, Envis (Environmental Information system) Center, BNHS, said, “Their late June departure from here could have some role in their late arrival.” He added that all other migratory birds, some even from as far as Siberia and Central Asia, had arrived by late October and early November. “I visited the Sewri mudflats last Saturday and saw no sign of the flamingos,” he added.

The flamingo population in Mumbai is scattered around the Sewri mudflats, Uran, Thane creek and Airoli. Birding experts are confident that there is no disturbance in the delicate ecological balance of these areas. The construction of Sewri-Nhava Sheva sealink, which was reportedly a potential threat to the flamingoes, has not started yet.

“It is difficult to pinpoint the reason for the delay. However, if the birds do not arrive by November 30, it indicates a problem,” said Nitin Jamdar, a birding expert who founded Birds of Bombay, a network of people interested in birding.