Flamingos at Sewri

It would be surreal to expect wildlife in one of the biggest and most densely packed metropolises of the world. But it is true. Right in central Mumbai, home to millions of humans, is also home to an enormous population of Lesser Flamingos from October to April. That, they inhabit one of the most unglamorous, polluted and industrialised sea fronts in the city is an important part of the story. Also, sighting them, like any other wildlife in its natural habitat, is a matter of right conditions and most of all luck. On this Saturday , I had a fortuitous combination of timing, tides, sunrise and luck. Just at the sunrise, I was able to bumble my way to the Sewri Jetty and spot hundreds, may be thousands, of bright pink to dirty grey flamingos scouring for food in the chemical ridden sludge of Sewri Mud Flats.