Rare wetland bird spotted for first time in Mumbai at Thane Creek

The bird was spotted by wildlife photographer Sudhir Gaikwad Inamdar near the Bhandup sewage pumping station.

MUMBAI Updated: Mar 01, 2018 00:21 IST

Badri Chatterjee
Hindustan Times

The Grey-headed Lapwing, an aquatic bird found in Southeast Asian wetlands, was spotted on Friday for the first time at the Thane Creek, Mumbai’s flamingo sanctuary.

The bird was spotted by wildlife photographer Sudhir Gaikwad Inamdar near the Bhandup sewage pumping station.

“Since Friday, I spotted the bird thrice over the weekend but it hasn’t been seen for the last two days. This is a vagrant bird. It is likely that it lost its way and drifted away from its flock. In such situations, they make a landing at ecologically favourable areas, get energised and fly towards their original habitat,” said Inamdar.

It is possible that the bird has already left the creek, added Inamdar.

Officials from the state government confirmed the discovery and said it was a rare find, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

“The photo-documentation of this bird at the Thane creek has been confirmed as the first such documentation in the MMR. We have been witnessing several such rare species making their landing along the creek due to the presence of good nutrient-load. It is possible that they were not noticed earlier and are being documented now,” said N Vasudevan, additional principal chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell.

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