“Ravi! I want to see flamingos in Mumbai this year. Where should I go?” Sometime in March, I enquired with my friend who is an avid bird photographer. He replied, “Let’s meet for lunch on Saturday and then I will take you to TS Chanakya near Seawoods, Nerul at 4 pm”. It was a perfect deal and I was to realize soon that this pre-condition for a proper meal was also my lucky charm for good birding! After all, Guru Dakshina toh deni padti hai!

As we arrived at the location, flamingos with long protruding necks, dark black hook-shaped beaks, shiny red eyes, slim white and light pink bodies, wide beautiful wings, and long legs were beginning to fly from the sea shore to the lake near TS Chanakya (TSC). They kept coming in big numbers to surprise even Ravi who is a frequent visitor to the place. Maybe it was my beginner’s luck but I was perplexed to realize that our timing was perfect to witness their flight from sea shore to TSC lake.

“How did you know the right time to be here to see the flamingos?” I curiously asked Ravi.

“Flamingos generally stay near the sea shore and feed on the algae found in muddy and salty sea water. When the high tide arrives, the water level rises to more than 2-3 mts. Flamingos have long but thin legs and find it difficult to stay inside the water. Hence, they can sense the approaching change in water level and fly to a safer zone a couple of hours before the high tide. Similarly, when it is time for low tide they fly back to the sea shore.” This insight from my friend left me awestruck with only one impression…Wow! What an amazing power nature bestows on its creatures for their survival. Then, why we humans are behaving against this divine blessing?    

For this trip, I didn’t pack my camera equipment because I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere with thousands of flamingos flying over me to land at their favourite spots in the lake. In a short time, the lake was covered with our migratory friends from Kutch and the Middle East. While Ravi got busy with the camera, I was admiring them with my binoculars. Their walk searching for food in the lake was gentle and graceful. Most of them were white and not pink as associated with flamingos. Experts around me assured colour transformation should happen in some weeks after feeding on the algae.

As the sunset approached coinciding with the low tide time, birds started flying back from lake to the nearby sea shore. Their silhouette against the orange hue of the Sun was a sight to behold. Nature provides its magic in these moments which can be treasured by everyone. It was an evening to remember… “Poora paisa vasool ho gaya”. On the way back, a voice whispered to me, “You are so happy but something is bothering you. What? Did you miss your camera?” Answer was a big Yes!!

Next morning after treating Ravi to a good breakfast (remember the deal?), we again landed at TSC around 9 am, about 2 hours before the high tide time. The morning light was so beautiful and the flamingos were shining bright in the new day. Their flight in small or large groups looked like fighter jets’ sorties in the blue sky. The co-ordination in the flight path, rhythm of the wings and body, speed and turn during the forward movement was so well synchronized that words are not enough to capture the happiness experienced. It was remarkable that as the group prepared to land in the lake water, each bird found its own spot and didn’t disturb the others. After capturing some reasonable shots and with the Sun beating down, we packed up for the day. This time on return, I was confronted with a new question from within… “Can we make some more visits while our migratory friends are here?” Answer was again…a big Yes!!

For the next 3 months, whenever the tide time was favourable during weekends to watch the birds at TSC, I was there to meet my muse. With each passing week,  it was a pleasure admiring their growth and style. Yes! White to Pink colour also gradually appeared. Each session tested my patience moving from one spot to another, waiting for the right time to click, missing out on many shots, incorrect camera settings…in addition, hot and humid Mumbai weather! However, at the end of every session there was a promise to return. Ravi insisted that I must visit in May to observe the magnificent courtship dance of the flamingos.

In the burning heat of May, the flamboyance dance of the flamingos was an awesome reward. Earlier, flamingos generally remained alone or sometimes in small groups. Now, the adult flamingos were moving together in a flock making all efforts to charm their probable partners. The movement of their neck and feet resembled a graceful dance sequence. They evaluated a candidate by touching each other’s beaks and moved on to check other options in the group. I have no idea what the final combination turned out to be but hopefully they all found their suitable partners. Surprisingly, I didn’t notice any instance of two males fighting over a common choice, which is normally observed during the mating season in various animal species. 

During May end, as the monsoon season gets closer, birds migrate out of Mumbai. I had tried to capture their moods to the best of my capability. However, there was one technique called Panning which I was very keen to practice. In panning, while the background is blurred the subject is in an acceptable focus zone giving a sense of subject’s motion across the image frame. It is a difficult technique with fast moving birds and not surprisingly 95% of my attempts on May 25 were failures but got a few to talk about. This was my final evening with our migratory guests who gave me a new dimension to work on. The pictures may freeze those fleeting moments but can never replay the atmosphere and experience. While they flew back, I bid them good-bye and hoped next year this little affair will continue…

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