India's barbed-wire fence lies just fifty yards away across the border. Beside it is Durgapur village in Laxmanpur union of Sharsha upazila, Jashore, ringed by a green belt, 10 kilometres north of Benapole on the border. With the change of the winds and the bone-chilling cold of the month of Magh, Padmabil in Sharsha is alive with migratory birds of many native and foreign species.

The migratory birds have made a safe shelter in this beel and will spend the whole winter here. Seeing them, it feels as if a fair of migratory birds is being held, and the beel is filled with their calls.

Padmabil is a wetland of about 70 bighas beside Durgapur village, and a sanctuary for many kinds of birds. In the quiet, pleasant surroundings of the sanctuary, the whole area rings with birdsong.

Hundreds of bird lovers from different parts of the district crowd Padmabil every day to enjoy the natural scenery. Because the place is safe and local people keep a close watch, the wetland within its green belt is full of birdsong.

Visitors Abdul Jabbar and Ali Hossain said countless birds, including sarail, cormorants, dongkur, beg and kastechura, are now on the wetland and flying in the sky. Padmabil is filled with the chirping of birds as flocks of migratory birds arrive from home and abroad. Everyone watches to their heart's content, and people are coming from villages and towns to the sanctuary to enjoy the scenery and listen to the birds. Just as a child is beautiful in its mother's lap, they said, birds are beautiful on a quiet wetland, and everyone who comes is delighted.

Monir Hossain and Mohammad Ali of Durgapur village said the villagers are alert to make sure nobody can trap the migratory birds. But visitors suffer a great deal because of poor transport links, they said.

Shamim Hossain and Arman Ali of the same village said more birds would come if upazila livestock officials kept an eye on the birds.

Sharsha upazila livestock officer Joydeb Kumar Singha said migratory birds come to Bangladesh from different countries in winter, and sanctuaries have grown up in several places in the upazila. In many places hunters are catching birds with traps and air guns. "We are keeping these hunters under strict watch. We are working to make sure the environment is not harmed. The upazila livestock department is working to conserve birds in Padmabil and other parts of the upazila," he said.

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