C-shaped miracle: Kutch sees unprecedented flamingo breeding success with 50,000 chicks

AHMEDABAD: It's a mesmerizing aerial view. Specks of pink forming a C-shape in the middle of a muddy-blue expanse of shallow sea water. These are congregations of flamingoes that have flocked to Kuda in Kutch – a spot between Flamingo City and Khadir – in much greater numbers than before. Environmentalists and forest officials say they have seen nothing like this before at the site — around 3 lakh flamingoes (greater and lesser) and 50,000-odd chicks.And there is another group that is hatching eggs.
What helped the large numbers is a small change made by a forest department team to the mud platforms built for the birds to nest. On linear platforms, there were large gatherings of flamingos, but nest numbers were only around 1,000, said senior forest officials.
So, what changed after the redesign? The C shape retains water for a longer time, thus turning the Kuda site into an important breeding ground for greater and lesser flamingos. The department noticed that water around the linear platforms would recede, which was not conducive for nesting.
"Two years ago, the department came up with an innovative idea of constructing C-shaped platforms, each side 170m long. This unique design has not only retained water for longer and increased its level, but also contributed to a higher survival rate of chicks. The department used the mud dug from the area to build the platforms," said Sandeep Kumar, chief conservator of forests (CCF), Kutch.
Kumar said that around 16 long platforms have been constructed since 2022. One C-shaped platform was built last year and two were built this year. Kumar said that an estimated 3 lakh flamingos are congregating in Kuda.
"Observations from field staff and photographs reveal that nearly 50,000 new chicks have been born this year, and another group is still in the breeding session. This success can be attributed to the intervention of the forest department, which initially planned to construct long platforms to support the breeding process, and later it was the C-shaped platforms," he said.
"Usually, the survival rate is about 20%. Because of these interventions by the department, the survival rate, according to an estimate, has gone up to 50%," said Kumar.
A recent research, ‘Flamingos in Kuda of Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary: Nesting, Challenges, and a Way Forward,' states that Flamingo City in the Greater Rann of Kutch is the largest breeding site of flamingos in Asia. In recent years, several new nesting areas have been observed across the Rann, including the Kuda site.
This site is located on either side of the newly built metalled border road that starts at the Kuda Border Outpost and goes to the India-Pakistan border.
Flamingos, in general, utilise the slightly elevated surface for nesting. The abandoned old road, parallel to the new metalled road, serves as a perfect habitat for the flamingos to nest. This paved the idea for constructing long platforms.
The research by Wildlife Institute of India, Suresh Kumar and Gaurav Sirola, stated that the nesting platforms constructed by the forest department are 100m long, 10m wide and are at a height of 1m from the mudflat. The team observed that five of them were used by flamingos to nest. Each platform had about 2,000 nests, totalling around 10,000 nests. The research stated that greater flamingos were observed to nest on the raised surfaces predominantly, the abandoned old road and the nesting platform, while lesser flamingos mostly nested on the mudflat.
Ahmedabad: It's a mesmerizing aerial view. Specks of pink forming a C-shape in the middle of a muddy-blue expanse of shallow sea water. These are congregations of flamingoes that have flocked to Kuda in Kutch – a spot between Flamingo City and Khadir – in much greater numbers than before. Environmentalists and forest officials say they have seen nothing like this before at the site — around 3 lakh flamingoes (greater and lesser) and 50,000-odd chicks. And there is another group that is hatching eggs.
What helped the large numbers is a small change made by a forest department team to the mud platforms built for the birds to nest. On linear platforms, there were large gatherings of flamingos, but nest numbers were only around 1,000, said senior forest officials.
So, what changed after the redesign? The C shape retains water for a longer time, thus turning the Kuda site into an important breeding ground for greater and lesser flamingos. The department noticed that water around the linear platforms would recede, which was not conducive for nesting.
"Two years ago, the department came up with an innovative idea of constructing C-shaped platforms, each side 170m long. This unique design has not only retained water for longer and increased its level, but also contributed to a higher survival rate of chicks. The department used the mud dug from the area to build the platforms," said Sandeep Kumar, chief conservator of forests (CCF), Kutch.
Kumar said that around 16 long platforms have been constructed since 2022. One C-shaped platform was built last year and two were built this year. Kumar said that an estimated 3 lakh flamingos are congregating in Kuda.
"Observations from field staff and photographs reveal that nearly 50,000 new chicks have been born this year, and another group is still in the breeding session. This success can be attributed to the intervention of the forest department, which initially planned to construct long platforms to support the breeding process, and later it was the C-shaped platforms," he said.
"Usually, the survival rate is about 20%. Because of these interventions by the department, the survival rate, according to an estimate, has gone up to 50%," said Kumar.
A recent research, ‘Flamingos in Kuda of Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary: Nesting, Challenges, and a Way Forward,' states that Flamingo City in the Greater Rann of Kutch is the largest breeding site of flamingos in Asia. In recent years, several new nesting areas have been observed across the Rann, including the Kuda site.
This site is located on either side of the newly built metalled border road that starts at the Kuda Border Outpost and goes to the India-Pakistan border.
Flamingos, in general, utilise the slightly elevated surface for nesting. The abandoned old road, parallel to the new metalled road, serves as a perfect habitat for the flamingos to nest. This paved the idea for constructing long platforms.
The research by Wildlife Institute of India, Suresh Kumar and Gaurav Sirola, stated that the nesting platforms constructed by the forest department are 100m long, 10m wide and are at a height of 1m from the mudflat. The team observed that five of them were used by flamingos to nest. Each platform had about 2,000 nests, totalling around 10,000 nests. The research stated that greater flamingos were observed to nest on the raised surfaces predominantly, the abandoned old road and the nesting platform, while lesser flamingos mostly nested on the mudflat.