Sewri Flamingo Colony

This weekend we made a short trip with friends to visit the Sewri Flamingoes who are in town for their annual eat-a-thon (mmm... green algae!) at our local mudflats. Armed with info via Twyla, we took a short train ride and another short 15min walk out to what appeared to be a pier (called a "jetty" here) dedicated to fixing industrial ships. When we arrived the tide was very low, which is why the birds come to this spot, with lots of mud exposed. Literally thousands -- some local blogs estimate as many as 15,000 -- of white and pink flamingoes scattered around. It was pretty immense in scope and size.

When you looked up close at these fascinating birds, you could not help but laugh at their eating strategy: dragging their beaks on the ground with their tongues hanging out to lick up the algae.

As the tide began to come back in, a huge encroaching line of pink retreated towards the mangrove forests, where they roost and spend their time during high tide. One of the crazy images (below) is of the Indian Oil refinery with the thousands of birds -- just another crazy moment here in Mumbai, our city of extremes and epic size.

For a more detailed report of the birds we saw, click on this link.

Cheers!