By Anirudh Nair
Excellent article with pictures by Sarang Naik .

Talawe is ample proof that the marvels of nature can be found in an urban centre too. There are wildernesses in our cities, near our homes, waiting to be explored, and pleading for protection. The Talawe wetland was slated to become a golf course and residential complex, but was saved due to efforts of local residents who campaigned and won a battle in court to preserve the flamingo habitat. But for every urban wilderness that receives protection, there are ten others that lose out to urban development projects. How do we stop this onslaught? Biologist Michael E. Soulé offers a modicum of a solution: “Though others might avoid the word, I insist that we talk about ‘love’ in conservation, because we only protect what we love. The reason we act when something threatens our family or our neighbourhood is because we love these people and places. Maybe it takes a tangible threat to our home environment to make us realise that we really do love the Earth.”

Hundreds of migrating flamingos and other wildlife can be seen just a stone’s throw away from a bustling Navi Mumbai residential complex

Behind the NRI Complex in Navi Mumbai is a little-known pocket of wilderness, the Talawe wetlands. Surrounded by high-rises on one side and mangroves on the other, this wetland is a stop-off point for large numbers of migratory birds — mainly lesser and greater flamingos — that arrive here each winter. Birders to this hidden wetland say that the birds are white and grey when they arrive and get the reddish-pink tinge they are known for, as they feed on algae and invertebrates rich in the pigment beta-carotene (the same pigment which gives carrots their orange colour!).
https://round.glass/sustain/urban-jungle/when-flamingos-frolic-and-feed-in-the-talawe-wetlands/