The wetlands of the Patuakhali coast are now alive with the calls of migratory birds. People here wake to their chirping, and it looks as though a fair of migratory birds has been held.

From sunrise to sunset the birds roam the coastal wetlands. Birds of many species spread their wings freely and fly in flocks from one wetland to another. The sight of them sweeping over the water in search of food, or resting on tree branches, delights everyone who sees it.

Every year, especially as winter begins, birds from Siberia, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Xinjiang and neighbouring India travel to temperate regions in search of warmth. Thousands of them arrive in Bangladesh as winter sets in and return in flocks to their own destinations when it ends.

A visit to the coast found wetlands on the chars of Patuakhali district along the Bay of Bengal ringing with birdsong, with most birds seen in the chars of Rangabali, Galachipa, Dashmina and Kalapara.

Among them are the common hoopoe, shakil, sparrow, cormorant and many kinds of heron and egret: the dhupni bok, dholapet bok, chinakani bok, gobok, deshi kani bok, khude bok, kalamatha nishi bok, khoyra bok and kala bok.

There are also doves, the yellow-footed green pigeon, several kingfishers (the white-throated, black-capped, lal, blue-eared and common kingfisher), the large and common woodpeckers and the Himalayan woodpecker, the long-tailed shrike, magpie robin, rufous treepie, small and long-tailed minivets, common iora, black drongo, sarali, garganey, jijira, pantamukhi, patari and patari hansh, khoyra and many others.

Bird expert Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, associate professor in the Department of Zoology at Patuakhali Government College, told Jagonews24 that because the area is a sanctuary and has a sea beach, local and foreign birds can roam here safely. Birds are seen here that are rarely found in other forests. But care must be taken that the birds are not mistreated, he said; otherwise their numbers will gradually fall as they fail to breed.

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