Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists seek revival of neighbouring wetlands as NRI Lake witnesses flamingo gatherings

Navi Mumbai: Hundreds of bird enthusiasts are flocking to the narrow stretch at NRI Lake to witness breathtaking flamingo gatherings, prompting environmentalists to call for urgent restoration of the neighbouring DPS and T S Chanakya wetlands to ease pressure on a single habitat and improve birdwatching opportunities across Navi Mumbai.

With visitors arriving from neighbouring cities, NRI Lake has emerged as an unofficial eco-tourism hotspot, the NatConnect Foundation said. It urged the state government to revive all three wetlands for the benefit of migratory birds and nature enthusiasts.

As the DPS and T S Chanakya wetlands have turned toxic due to stagnant water and blue-green algae accumulation, a portion of NRI Lake has become the main destination for flamingos flying out of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary during high tide. The sanctuary, a Ramsar site of global importance, hosts migratory flamingos during the winter and summer months before they return to Kutch ahead of the monsoon.

Environmentalists said this season has witnessed a remarkable increase in lesser flamingos across the Mumbai region, while greater flamingos have preferred freshwater wetlands such as Bhigwan. “Yes, we are seeing over a thousand greater flamingos here,” bird trail guide Nitin Nagre from Bhigwan said during an interaction organised by NatConnect.

Lesser flamingos thrive mainly on microscopic food sources found in shallow alkaline and saline waters, feeding on blue-green algae, diatoms, plankton, tiny crustaceans and other microorganisms filtered through their specialised beaks. Carotenoid pigments present in the algae contribute to their striking pink colouration.

Experts warned that dependence on a limited section of the NRI wetland could increase pressure on microscopic food sources. Restoration of the DPS and T S Chanakya wetlands has therefore become essential to provide alternative feeding grounds for the birds, said Jyoti Nadkarni, a member of the Raigad district wetland documentation committee. She added that flamingos are key indicators of healthy wetlands and play an important role in maintaining ecological balance.

“Bird lovers now seem to have mastered the art of tracking flamingo flights by closely monitoring high-tide charts and arriving equipped with cameras and telephoto lenses,” said Sandeep Sareen of the Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society, which had fought a legal battle to protect the lake.

Photography enthusiasts have been gathering in large numbers to capture the flamingos in their natural habitat, with cameras lined up along the lakeside, resident Divya Banda Pogaru said. Bird lovers travelled from different cities over the weekend to witness and photograph the rare spectacle, she added.