Ghumakkar's Diary

So, let’s call it a year. Through a lot of ups (!) and downs (yes!) over some 365 days classified in to 12months, the day is finally here, when I can finally say it ‘was’ a year and the coming ‘year’ would be actually better. I, who belongs to the species of human beings generally called as brats , have shed a few layers of my not-so-narcissistic admiration for self in last year – to say. The way this all and that is happening (yes it’s still happening and not reached the death) I would never be able to love myself, reach the earlier level of self-respect ever, and yes I said ‘ever’. But the post is not again about the love of my life – I! It’s about what I am wishing from the coming year and for what I would actually try. Life!

We have been planning to visit the winter guests of Mumbai for last few years. This year finally we could! Thanks to a bulleteer mate – Vikram Pai aka Untamed. We planned it on Whatsapp and visited Sewri Mudflats for a rendezvous with the guest birds – Flamingos. Walking Flamingos at Sewri Mudflats Scientifically, these are Lesser Flamingos or Phoenicopterusminor , the smallest species of flamingo. It mainly occurs in Sub-Saharan deserts and Runn of Kutch. Annually, thousands of Flamingos fly in to the warmer mudflats of Sewri, Mumbai to avoid the harsh winters of their breeding habitat in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. A lot is still to be done to study the main reasons (winter, food-few of them) and their possible routes. Their general stay at Mumbai ( Sewri mudflats, Thane/Airoli/Vashi creeks ) spans October-March, though it depends on the arrival of winters in Kutch and also on the ability of baby-flamingos to fly. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and few other NGOs are