Following is an excerpt from a report in the Pioneer.

… with reports of flocking of a huge number of flamingoes from the Far East and South Asian countries including Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh to the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary in the Chilika lake pouring in. There are also speculations that the birds, in due course of time, may make the sanctuary their permanent home.

Nalabana Bird Sanctuary, which falls under the Chilika lagoon, is situated some 100 km away from Bhubaneswar. While 40 per cent of the visiting birds have already left Chilika with the onset of summer, flamingoes and pelicans are yet to start on their journey, informed Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Abhimanyu Behera. Around 1,680 flamingoes were counted this year during the annual bird survey, conducted on January 5. Their number increased to 2,600 by the end of February. Almost all of them had gathered in the 16.59 sq km Nalabana sanctuary, Behera said. In the last two years, hundreds of flamingoes have chosen to stay back in Chilika instead of returning home, he said. "The flamingoes which preferred to stay back in Chilika, go to Kutch in Gujarat during the rains for breeding before returning to the lake," he said.