Baikka Beel covers about 120 acres of Hail Haor in Moulvibazar. The government declared it a freshwater fish sanctuary in 2003, and since then the number of tourists visiting the scenic beel has kept growing.

In the monsoon, the beel and the haor merge into a vast expanse of water, but in winter it takes on a different form. As the water dries, rows of hijal and tamal trees emerge beside the beel, and thousands of colourful migratory birds play in the water all around, joined by white egrets and other native species. This draws tourists in large numbers.

At one time, flocks of migratory birds came to Baikka Beel every winter. Birds still come in flocks, but even visitors can see that their numbers are falling. Various species of migratory birds come here from Siberia and other cold countries of the world, seeing it as a safe home. They begin arriving in November and roam freely around the beel until March, filling the whole beel with their flights and play.

Locals said a rare new guest, the peregrine falcon, has arrived at Baikka Beel this year. According to the bird census information, this bird has been seen in Asia for the first time.

An organisation called the Centre for Natural Resource Studies (CNRF, as the report gives it), with the help of the Bangladesh Bird Club, recently completed a census of waterbirds at Baikka Beel. According to the census, the number of birds has increased this year.

The census was carried out under the supervision of Wildlife Conservation Society programme coordinator Samiul Mohsanin and bird expert Dr Paul Thompson. It recorded 7,870 waterbirds of 38 species in the 2025 count, against 4,615 waterbirds of 33 species in 2024. Notable sightings this year included 750 grey-headed lapwings, 639 painted storks and 100 black-headed ibises.

In 2008–10 and 2014–19, an average of 9,000 waterbirds came to the beel each winter. The number of migratory birds generally depends on water levels and conditions in the previous season. On average, 59 percent of the birds at the beel are migratory.

On the ground, migratory birds were seen at the front and on the right side of the beel, but none on the other side. Those involved believe the birds' positions have become scattered for fear of hunters, as numerous commercial fisheries have grown up around the beel and the haor. Tourist numbers are also much lower.

Bank official Md Maksudur Rahman, who came from Dhaka with his family, said: "I heard that lots of migratory birds come here. Having come, I saw there are birds, but far fewer. There should be flocks of birds here."

A tourist named Nasrin Akter said: "I heard many migratory birds come here from different countries; that's why I came. I liked it, but there are few birds. I did like the natural surroundings, though."

Another visitor, Al Amin, said: "The birds are not the way I used to see them. There are still many kinds of birds, but fewer. People used to queue to see Baikka Beel; by comparison there are fewer visitors now too."

Md Khijir Mia, organising secretary of the Baro Gangini Resource Management Organisation, which manages Baikka Beel, denied that migratory birds have decreased. He said there are more birds this year than last year, and they have not seen any hunters at the beel so far.

Md Moniruzzaman Chowdhury, project site officer of CNRF, a private organisation working on biodiversity in the Khulna and Sylhet regions, said a record number of birds came to Baikka Beel this year according to the census. "But visitors say there are fewer birds. Whether there are more or fewer is a matter for research and study," he said.

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