A verditer flycatcher, a blue-green bird, has been seen on Char Bijoy, a remote island off Kuakata in Patuakhali. Local people and environmental campaigners say its presence shows another side of the island's biodiversity and its growing importance for migratory birds.
Local fisherman Monir said he found the bird on the sand of Char Bijoy, soaked by rain and unable to fly even when he came close. He took it to the Gangamati forest, dried it in the sun until it recovered and let it go. He had never seen such a beautiful blue bird before, he said.
The verditer flycatcher is usually 15 to 17 centimetres long and eats small insects. According to the Forest Department's Red List of Bangladesh: Birds, it is a common and widespread winter migrant in Bangladesh, seen alone or in small groups in open forest, forest edges, scrub, gardens and village trees; globally it is listed as Least Concern. Birdwatchers say winter visitors start arriving in late autumn, and the species has also been recorded in Bangladesh in September.
Moniruzzaman, the Forest Department's Mohipur range officer, said tamarisk, hental, gewa and golpata have been planted on the roughly 230-acre island, and afforestation continues. Besides winter migrants from Siberia, 8 to 10 bird species, including gulls, pigeons and several herons and egrets, live there along with red crabs. Shallow water around the island is making it an important area for sea fish to breed and for fry to grow.
But the department is short of staff, and without a boat it cannot patrol Char Bijoy regularly, Moniruzzaman said. K M Bachchu, convener of the Coastal Environment Protection Movement, said hunting, traps and nets must stop to keep the birds safe, and tourists must be made aware too.
The report is by Banglavision's Kuakata correspondent.
Photo: Nrik kiran / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Banglavision
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