Flight of the Flamingos

Last Sunday a friend suggested we go to a tidal lake near Navi Mumbai and watch flamingos. It was a hot morning and 10 am in the sun is not exactly pleasant.  Anyway loaded with water, binoculars and cameras we were by the water at 10 am.

To our disappointment there were four flamingos in the lake. quite an anticlimax considering the distance we had driven in the heat.  Anyway, as we were here we took a few desultory photos and were readying to leave.......

.....when the young eyes of my friend saw a flock approaching in the distance, as the birds came closer, we identified them as more flamingos, in their hundreds......

...The birds flew overhead and surveyed the site.....

....and came in to land.

At first there were a few .....

..... then the size of the flocks grew....

..... then there were even larger flocks flying in......

.....  in their thousands ....

..... All flying in perfect formation, executing a circuit and landing....

..... all of them executed a perfect circuit over us, and landed at the same spot .....

...... Flying in perfect formation, they came in to land exactly in a similar manner, an air traffic controller could not have coordinated such precision.

..... the numbers on the lake kept growing, large flocks were arriving every few minutes.  The birds did the circuit and came in to land with such exactness, first landing gear down (oops, legs came down); then face into the wind, flare out of the wings and drop at the exact point intended.  No matter how many birds in the water, the landing bird did not unsettle those that were already there.

literally swarms were arriving and the number of birds kept increasing 

The flocks were huge, hundreds of birds in each, all coming in from the Creek nearby.  A birder friend later explained to me that the flamingos are in search of that depth of water where they can wade and feed. The tide had possibly increased the depth in the Creek hence the birds had come to this shallower lake. 

The flamingos did everything in perfect synchronisation, all facing in the same direction (the wind?), eating at the same time and finally resting at the same time.

The entire display lasted about an hour and a half during which I estimated about 3000 birds came in.  It was a breathtaking display of synchronisation, formation flying, aerodynamic landing and cohabitation.
Pushed by storms,
changing winds,
yet surprising,
inner strength.

Retains balance,
keeps small piece,
staked out,
of much larger plot.

Slowly losing,
it's distinctive hues.
Dissolving,
fuchsia to palest pink.