Photo: The Guardian
The flamingo population of India's largest city has tripled. The birds have been congregating in huge numbers. A count at the start of the year recorded 120,000 flamingos in Mumbai, three times their highest population in decades. The flamingos found in India are the Greater Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. Mumbai sewage promotes biological growth of blue-green algae, which is food for flamingos. But the flamingos are moving on as the city transitions to an environment where wetlands have given way to a new airport, while a 22 km sea bridge cuts across mangroves and mudflats, and a clearance has been given for India's first bullet train to cut through the Thane Creek protected flamingo sanctuary. It appears that continued sewage and waste dumping is exacerbating a situation that will eventually drive the flamingos out. Too much of a good thing is spoiling a spectacle for birdwatchers.
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BarrytheBirder
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