Bangladesh News

With the arrival of winter, migratory birds of different species thronged Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus making it eloquent with the chirping of the birds.
Even though the number of birds this year seems lesser than the previous year due to the delayed advent of winter, more than six thousand birds, six foreign species alongside local breeds, have already taken shelter here. This year the birds arrived in the last week of October, a month later than in the previous year.

Drying up of lakes, disturbance and interference from humans, unplanned cultivation of Nepiar grass in the shallow lakes and lack of measures for protecting the habitat of migratory birds have kept the movements of the birds confined to only two lakes on the campus. The birds prefer to stay at the lakes in front of the administrative building and behind Pritilata Hall. A considerable number of birds are compelled to leave the lakes when thousands of admission seekers crowd the campus during the JU admission tests. The birds use the lakes as their resting ground by day and wander at night in search of food in the paddy fields of a nearby river.

Around 31 species of guest birds usually visit the campus every winter while 128 species of resident birds live at the lakes and bushes around the lakes of JU, which had proved to be a safe sanctuary for the birds.

The 31 species of migratory birds, which usually visit the campus, include 28 local species from different parts of the country. Local migratory birds throng the campus from the beels and haors of Sylhet, Hakaluki and Hyle Haor, Tangaor Beels, Nijhum Dwip and Chittagong hill tracts. Usually, about three species of birds reach the campus from Siberia and the Himalayas. A number of species use Bangladesh as a stopover to go on to another country.

However, only seven to 10 species of the guest birds actually like to float on the lake water while the others are known as migratory tree-birds.

Deshi Khanjana, Pintail, Girgle, Toughted Duck, Spoon Bill and Moorhen, are the endangered species of local migratory birds that usually visit the campus.

Even though the Siberian Duck usually come in November, they are yet to come this year. A rare species of migratory bird named Yellow-Legged Green Pigeon (Harial) was spotted on the campus in 2004 and has not been seen since then. Shoveler was last seen in 1992 and did not make any visit afterwards. Experts blame it on the deteriorating habitat for the birds on the campus.

Ninety-nine percent of the birds that have migrated to JU this year are Lesser Whistling Teal (Chhota Sarali) and Greater Whistling Teal (Bara Sarali). Two pairs of Cotton Pigmy Goose (Balihansh), a pair of Pochard (Bhutihansh) and two Darters (Snake Bird) have come to the campus this year while Pintail Duck and Gurgani, which visited the campus last year, are yet to arrive.

Experts expect their arrival at the end of winter and the number of migratory bird species to increase by then.

The Zoology Department of JU arranges a bird fair on the campus every year where a large number of visitors from Dhaka city go watch the birds.

“If we want to keep the campus atmosphere to be friendly to the migratory birds, dredging of lakes, permanent fencing around the main lakes which the birds use and building mass awareness is necessary,” said Kamrul Hasan, lecturer of JU Zoology Department.