Migratory birds start flocking to IU lake with fall of mercury

 
As the mercury has started falling fast, sightings at the Islamic University Lake in Kushtia have become greatly enjoyable with the chirps of migratory birds!

The colorful birds are having a good time this year on a relatively silent campus as the university like other educational institutions remained closed for long due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lake has taken a blissful look with big and colorful water lilies and different species of migratory birds.

The university resounds with the chirping of thousands of migratory birds who have already taken shelter to pass the winter months on the campus. During this time of the year, campus dwellers wake up listening to the chirps of the guest birds. Every year, the migratory birds come far from Siberia, China, Mongolia and other Himalayans in winter seeking refuge in the warmer climate of Bangladesh.

The birds move to other places from their respective countries due to lack of food and intolerable cold, Inzamul Haque Sazal, a lecturer at IU Environmental Science and Geography department, said.

Among other species, less whistling ducks, which are known as Choto Sorali, and greater whistling ducks, known as Boro Sorali, are found more in the IU lake compared to other species. Many visitors who visited the lake recently complained that the birds could not swim comfortably as there are water hyacinths in the lake.

Rayhan Badsha Ripon, a master's degree student at IU's Arabic Language and Literature department, said, "This year the number of migratory birds is comparatively higher as the weather is favorable. I'm very excited to see such a huge number of birds!"

The university authorities should take care of these birds as they cannot move freely due to water hyacinth in the lake, he added.

IU acting chief engineer Alimuzzaman Totul said they would remove the water hyacinths from the lake very soon.

Bangladesh, a good destination for migratory birds  Bangladesh becomes a very good destination for hundreds of bird species every winter. Birds from the remotest corners of the world such as Siberia, Mongolia, and the Tibetan plateau fly to Bangladesh to enjoy the country's temperate winter and to feed from the bounty of fish in the shallow rivers and canals. 

Bangladesh contains wetlands of great biological diversity and is considered to be of international ecological importance due to the extensive migratory waterfowl population using these wetlands as its habitat.

Bangladesh is within the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) of migratory birds providing roosting and feeding habitats on its resourceful wetlands, such as Tangua Haor, Hakaluki Haor, Baikka Beel, Sonadia Island, Nijuhm Dweep and many more, according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (UNB)