This rare visitor turns Hyderabad’s Kishtareddypet Lake into birding hotspot

A juvenile Greater Flamingo is the star of Kishtareddypet Lake, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, and has been drawing visitors to the lake, right from bird lovers to bird photographers to avid birders

Hyderabad: Bird lovers and bird photographers are now heading to one lake that rarely had so much of visitors. And all that, just because of one rare visitor, who has triggered long discussions on social media on his mysterious, solitary presence.

A juvenile Greater Flamingo is the star of Kishtareddypet Lake, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, and has been drawing visitors to the lake, right from bird lovers to bird photographers to avid birders and even others who reach the lake on weekends just to have a glimpse of the rare avian guest.

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With greater flamingos usually coming in flocks, the arrival of this loner, who has been around for a few weeks now, has puzzled birders here.

“We do not know the exact reason why there is just one. Greater flamingos usually come in flocks. However, there are instances where a single flamingo is left behind on reverse migration. We may have not noticed it even if it had stayed back since the previous season. Thanks to Hyderabad Birding Pals, this place was discovered. Thanks to the lone flamingo, the place has become popular amongst the birders of Hyderabad,” says Syam Sundar Potturi, a software engineer by profession but an avid birder and photographer, who is now a regular at Kishtareddypet.

After photographs of the mysterious lone flamingo from Syam Sundar and others, there have been more photographers heading to the spot and posting their pictures on the Facebook page of Hyderabad Birding Pals and other social media platforms.

“Ameenpur Lake was popular till 2019 for these beautiful winter visitors in huge numbers. In 2020, I saw just half a dozen or so of them visit the lake for a single day, probably to recce the place for suitable shallow waters. They have not visited Ameenpur since,” adds Syam Sundar, making the presence of the juvenile flamingo at Kishtareddypet all the more perplexing.

At the lake meanwhile, where most of the lakebed is dry with a small portion having a shallow presence of water, there are more migratory birds. From spoonbills, Northern Shovelers, Garganey, Black-tailed Godwits, Plovers and many other waders can be seen in good numbers, apart from swallows, cormorants, painted storks and their ilk.

The VIP flamingo, however, has not gone without some ‘objection’ to his presence. River terns have been photographed regularly mobbing him and having some fun. The guest, however, has maintained restraint, and is usually seen wading through the waters in the friendly company of black-winged stilts and the Godwits.