Migratory birds once came in flocks to the protected Baikka Beel in Moulvibazar, filling the surroundings with their calls. They no longer come as they used to, and tourists from home and abroad who come to watch birds often leave disappointed.

Environmentalists say migratory birds have declined because of the loss of aquatic plants and habitat, climate change and more hunting.

Hail Haor covers a wide area of Moulvibazar Sadar and Sreemangal upazilas and Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district, and Baikka Beel is one of its beels. For people in the region the name Baikka Beel brings birds to mind, because birds of many shapes and colours used to be seen there. Now migratory birds do not come, though some native species can be seen, in much smaller numbers. The main causes of the decline in migratory birds over the past few years are the environment, habitat, climate change and the loss of aquatic plants. What was once in Baikka Beel for birds to live on is no longer there.

According to bird researchers, the main reason is that aquatic plants have been cleared from the beel for fishing. Without water hyacinth and water lilies, birds cannot perch and feed. The loss of trees in the haor, unplanned filling of the haor, fishing by draining and poisoning, indiscriminate hunting and vehicles running through the haor are among the reasons the number of birds is falling.

To protect the beel's biodiversity, the Ministry of Land declared 100 hectares of wetland the "Baikka Beel Sanctuary" on 1 July 2003, banning fishing and the harvesting of aquatic plants. But failure to control bird trapping and the lack of aquatic plants are forcing the birds to turn away.

The beel used to host many species, among them cotton pygmy goose, northern pintail, garganey, northern shoveler, ferruginous duck, grey-headed lapwing, black-tailed godwit, glossy ibis, gadwall, little grebe, great and little cormorants, the Bengal vulture, Asian openbill, moorhen, coot, pheasant-tailed and bronze-winged jacanas, greylag goose, grey heron, eagles, black kite, pond heron, cattle egret, great egret, purple swamphen and lesser whistling duck. Some of these can still be seen, but most are no longer found on the beel. In the trees on its banks, however, mynas, doves, magpie robins, sparrows, bulbuls, grassbirds and tailorbirds can be seen.

Environmental activist Ahad Mia told Jagonews: "The main reason for the decline of migratory birds at Baikka Beel over the past few years is the degradation of the aquatic and land environment. Some people are pushing the environment and biodiversity to the brink of destruction, and the consequences are gradually showing. We should come forward to protect migratory birds."

Minnat Ali, president of the Baragangina Resource Management Committee, which is responsible for Baikka Beel, said: "A few years ago there were many more birds. But without water hyacinth and water lilies the birds are declining. Bird hunting with banned current nets and the use of irrigation pumps are also reducing them. But there is still time for migratory birds to arrive this year."

Md Abul Kalam, divisional forest officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Sylhet, said: "The haor is much shallower than before. Where there used to be water all year round, now there is water for a few months. Also, fewer people used to come and go; now they move around freely. Perhaps for these various reasons fewer birds are coming."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.