A childhood dream, a lone flamingo and a muddy trek through the monsoon wetlands of Gujarat. Jair Luke Sam follows one bird to a whole flock.
Following one flamingo into the monsoon
Jair Luke Sam grew up watching flamingos in wildlife documentaries and never imagined seeing them for real. Instead of visiting in winter like most birders, he travels to the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India, during the monsoon, when rain and rivers turn the salt flats into shallow wetlands dotted with small islands.
At his resort he spots a single flamingo feeding alone, a surprise for such a social bird. When it takes off, he and his guide follow by jeep through flooded tracks, then on foot across sticky mudflats, until a lagoon reveals a flock of lesser flamingos feeding in the shallows.
He describes how they sweep their bills through the water to filter tiny food, which gives them their pink colour, and how carefully they preen. When the whole flock runs across the water and lifts off, he lowers his camera to simply watch. It is a patient, sensory account of a long-held dream coming true.
_This story was written by Jair Luke Sam for Untold Wildlife, our partner in bringing overlooked conservation stories to more people._