‘Routine sortie’: Navy on low-flying chopper over flamingo habitat in Mumbai

On Wednesday morning, Navi Mumbai residents were surprised to see a helicopter fly very low, close to the flamingo feeding grounds in Talawe wetlands, scattering the birds.

The Indian Navy said this was part of their routine migratory bird survey as flamingos and waders were a flight safety hazard. The survey was carried out to ascertain density of migratory birds as this habitat falls within the designated ‘local flying area’ (LFA) of the Indian Navy Station (INS) Shikra in Colaba, officials said.

Over 1.5 lakh flamingos have flocked to wetlands in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this year, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said last month, estimating a 25 per cent increase in numbers than 2019. The BNHS said that lower human activity during lockdown created ideal foraging conditions in Navi Mumbai wetlands.