Record numbers of winged visitors to Mumbai this year

Flamingo lovers from all over Mumbai and its adjoining areas would be delighted by the results of the latest census carried out by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which has revealed that there are a total of 1.21 lakh flamingos inhabiting Mumbai. Of this, 1.07 lesser flamingos were spotted in January alone, when migration was at its peak.

BNHS has been carrying out a monthly census as part of its 10-year-long ecological study on flamingos and other waders at the eastern seafront of Mumbai. The report, released on February 2, celebrated as World Wetlands Day, takes into account the numbers of these pink visitors between October and January, and showed that the number of lesser flamingos are on the rise while that of greater flamingos was declining.

"The corresponding numbers for December was 36,100, which jumped by 71,600 in January. The figures were obtained using scientific methods and robust procedures where the census is carried for three consecutive days," said Rahul Khot, principal investigator, and assistant director, BNHS.

The data also highlighted that numbers of lesser flamingos were on the rise and are currently at their peak. On the other hand, numbers of greater flamingos show a decreasing trend since October 2018.

Dr Deepak Apte, director of BNHS, said that while the numbers were good, it meant that we have to be more responsible and sensitive while planning development in the region. "We need to focus and work to clean the highly polluted eastern seafront, so that we provide a toxicity-free habitat for flamingos and other migratory birds," he said.