Here's Where You Can Watch Flamingos In Mumbai In 2026

Every winter, flamingos leave their breeding grounds and travel south along India’s western coast in search of shallow wetlands rich in food. These long-distance migrants move in response to changing temperatures and water conditions, following salt pans, creeks and mudflats where algae and small crustaceans are abundant. For decades, the wetlands around Mumbai have been part of this route.

This year, flamingos began returning to the Mumbai coast in early December, slightly later than usual. Initial sightings were reported in Thane Creek and parts of Navi Mumbai, with numbers increasing steadily through January. Wildlife officials and birding groups tracking the season have noted both greater flamingos and smaller numbers of lesser flamingos. The delayed arrival has been linked to prolonged monsoon conditions and shifts in water salinity, which affect feeding patterns along the flyway.

By mid-winter, the city’s wetlands are once again dotted with pink. The Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary remains the most consistent site, especially along the eastern waterfront near Airoli and Vashi. Sewri mudflats continue to draw large flocks during low tide, while Navi Mumbai’s wetlands — including DPS Flamingo Lake, Panje, and areas along Palm Beach Road — have become regular feeding and roosting grounds. These spaces offer the shallow waters flamingos need to sweep their beaks through silt and water to filter food.

Flamingos spend most of their day feeding and resting. Their distinctive pink colour comes from carotenoid pigments found in the algae and brine shrimp they consume. Because their diet is so specific, flamingos are highly sensitive to changes in water quality. A drop in numbers often signals damage to wetland ecosystems, making their annual return an informal health check for Mumbai’s fragile coastal belt.

Public interest in flamingos has grown sharply in recent years, especially in Navi Mumbai, where roadside viewpoints and boat tours have turned birdwatching into a seasonal attraction. Conservationists have welcomed the attention but warn that unmanaged tourism can disturb the birds. Sudden movement, loud noise, drones, feeding attempts and walking onto mudflats can cause entire flocks to abandon feeding sites.

Sewri mudflats remain the city’s most established viewing site, where people watch from the roadside near the jetty area during low tide. The birds feed far out on the exposed mudflats and are visible with binoculars or zoom lenses, especially in the early morning. Across the creek, the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary offers several viewing stretches along the Airoli–Vashi waterfront, where flamingos gather in large numbers through the winter. Regulated boat safaris run by the forest department operate on fixed routes within the sanctuary and are designed to keep a safe distance from feeding zones.

In Navi Mumbai, flamingos are frequently spotted at DPS Flamingo Lake in Nerul, where flocks gather in the shallow water body alongside Palm Beach Road. Viewers typically watch from the pavement or roadside without entering the wetland itself. Further along the Navi Mumbai–Uran belt, wetlands such as Panje attract both greater and lesser flamingos, along with other migratory birds. These areas are viewed from surrounding roads and bunds and are considered sensitive habitats due to ongoing development pressures. Smaller wetland pockets along Palm Beach Road between Seawoods and Belapur also host flamingos during peak season and are visible directly from public roads.

Early mornings and low-tide hours offer the best chance to see feeding activity without disturbance. As interest in flamingo watching grows, maintaining distance has become essential to ensuring that these wetlands remain usable for the birds year after year. As Mumbai expands, the survival of its wetlands remains uncertain. The flamingos’ annual arrival is both a reminder and a warning: these birds return only as long as the coast can still sustain them.

Vidyasagar Hariharan is a photographer who has been covering Mumbai's flamingo migration since the last 10 years. You can follow him here.

If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:

Why The Mumbai Coastal Forest Project Might Be The City’s Best Shot At Salvation

The Stork Sisters: How A Grassroots Army Is Saving Assam’s Most Misunderstood Bird

Saved By A Curse: This Documentary Shows Us Why The Chambal River Remains Pristine