Flamingos at Sewri, Mumbai

Nowadays bird watchers are travelling to places out of Mumbai. But I prefer popular bird watching spots in Mumbai. There are many reason for this. Mumbai provides a mixed habitat for migratory birds. No other Indian city attracts as many birds as Mumbai does. Sewri mudflats is one of such place in Mumbai for migratory birds.

Sewri is a neighborhood towards South Mumbai, has a jetty cum dock which is home to thousands of flamingos and other rare bird species. Every winter, thousands of greater and lesser flamingos flock to the mudflats of Sewri from Kutch in Gujarat. They arrive in November and the best time to see them is during January to March as these months sport the maximum number.

When I reached the place, there were flocks of flamingos. A vast expanse of mangroves stretches beyond their lines. And the row of pink legs march towards the mangroves and some lazy to walk,take flight, flapping their large wings.

It was terrific to watch the dance formations of pink feathered birds and they dip their beaks into shallow waters to hunt prey.

In addition to flamingos, visitors might also sight the heron, egret, ibis, gull, tern, sandpiper, and kingfisher.

How to reach Sewri Jetty:

To reach here, one must get off at the Sewri station on the Harbour Railway line. Cross the main road through railway crossing and take the Sewri Koliwada road. Jetty is approximately 1 km from Sewri east. 

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Backyard birding at Uran and Bhandup Pumping Station,Mumbai

  

This was my first bird watching trip in Mumbai.  Even though I am not so much enthusiastic for bird watching, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to do something different from my regular travel.

Wetlands form an integral part of the ecosystem of Mumbai city. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, these amazing patches of marshy land are home to a wide variety of biodiversity.

One fine Sunday morning, our group gathered at Vashi. The plan was to bird on Uran area. We headed towards Uran,  there we managed to see quite a number of wetland birds.  We walked towards the creek which has big water reservoir on one side and  other side filled with trees and mangroves.

Lesser Flamingoes, Greater Flamingoes, Cormorants, white cheeked Bulbul, Pied starlings, Pond heron, Egrets, Painted stork, Dove, Kingfisher and Blacked winged Stilts are some of the birds we spotted from this area.

It took us few hours to explore the whole area. By the time we were ready to leave, I found that it a paradise for local and migratory birds. We halted for breakfast on the way to Panje village, Jasai grasslands and other marshy areas in the vicinity. Although our guide explained to us the name of the birds, it is difficult to remember all those names.

Finally as we reached the Bhandup Pumping Station area, which is again a huge wetland, we saw a number of wetland birds.  This is the place where the sewage from the city ends up, and finds its way into the waste water management system.

This is one of the popular among birders not just for its wetland birds but also for scrubland species and raptors that are often sighted here. We made our way through tar road, stopping every now and then to click with our cameras at the variety of birds.

Sightings included  Black Winged stilts, Black eared kite, Kite, Booted eagle, Marsh Harrier, Green bee eater, Painted Stork, Spoon bills, Black head IBIS, Glossy Ibis, Brown headed Gulls, Common terns, River terns, Little Egret, Greater Egret, Common sandpiper, Garganey, Shrike, Ashy Prinia, Plain Prinia, Rock pigeon, Barn swallow and Alpine swift.

We could manage some good shots of butterflies as well.

Soon we returned to Vashi and bid goodbye each other. I hope that this lovely piece of grasslands remains intact and throws more surprise at us in the years to come.

A day well spent!

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