S A Shofiee Sylhet :
The number of migratory birds in Hakaluki and Tanguar haors has increased this year compared to that of last year, the latest census shows.
Migratory birds have started flocking to Hakaluki Haor in Moulvibazar, the biggest wetland in the country, delighting visitors with their chirping and fluttering. Birds of different species have come earlier this year and their number is also more than last year, bird watchers said.
About 34,264 birds of 56 species were counted during a two-day census conducted on January 25 and 26 this year in 42 water bodies of Hakaluki haor. The census conducted on the same days in January 2015 tallied 21,631 birds.
Every winter, thousands of migratory birds of different species from Siberia and other colder regions flock to the haor.
A team led by the National Coordinator of Waterfowl Census in Bangladesh and prominent bird specialist Enam Ul Haque, conducted the census under the Coastal and Wetland Bio-diversity Management Project (CWBMP) of the Directorate of Environment (DoE).
It was organised by Bangladesh Bird Club and funded by USAID’s Climate-Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CREL) Project.
The survey was conducted under ‘Enumeration of Aquatic Bird 2007’, a project of DoE.
Wildlife specialists, Bangladesh Bird Club and some teachers and students of the zoology departments of some universities were also in the survey team.
The number of birds has risen by one-third from last year. A good number of unknown birds were found in the haor this year, he added.
The number of winter birds has also doubled in Tanguar haor of Sunamganj over the last decade, as the winged visitors found the overall environment quality at the water body suitable for them.
Another survey, conducted by IUCN Bangladesh, counted 30 species of migratory birds and 1, 02,000 individuals this time against 52,299 last year, while the figure was 32,225 in 2014, 17,204 in 2013 and 28,876 in 2012.
The census team found huge numbers of red-crested pochard (8,116), common coot (7,250) and gadwall (14,893) in the Tanguar haor.
The IUCN team carried out a waterfowl census in Chattannar Beel, Lechuamara, Hatirghata, Berberia, Rowa, Rupaboi, Ballardubi, and adjacent beels of Tanguar haor on January 25-26. The survey team recorded 30 species of migratory birds from different beels, including some adjacent grounds of this haor, said the National Coordinator of Waterfowl Census in Bangladesh, Enam Ul Haque
