Mamun Hossain, Pabna

All the birds are singing, the night is over. The daisies are blooming in the ears. The nature of the villages and areas of Chatmohar and Bhangura, including the Chalanbil-inhabited upazila of Pabna, was like this famous poem written by Madanmohan Tarkalankar. Once upon a time, the people of these areas would wake up in the morning to the chirping of various birds. Various wild birds roamed freely in this green and shady village-bangla. However, now the calls of birds are not heard in the nature of rural Bengal as before.

These birds mainly roamed around bamboo thickets, forests, or along the river banks. Apart from this, just a decade and a half ago, various familiar and unfamiliar birds including Dahuk, Tia, Fingay, Bulbuli, Shalik, Tuntuni, Sparrow, Owl, Fish-Ranga, Dove, Myna, Yellow Bird or Kutum Bird, White Buck, Pankauri, Black Buck, Gray Buck, Eagle, Crow, Cuckoo, Wood Thukro, Babui Bird, Doyel and Harial could be seen in the fields and yards, trees and bushes near the houses in the Chalanbil region. But now the birds are not seen much.

Bird lovers are of the opinion that birds are losing their shelter due to various reasons including indiscriminate deforestation, cutting down of old trees around the houses, unplanned infrastructure development, food crisis. They also said that the number of birds is decreasing at an alarming rate day by day due to poachers. They said that now pesticides are used excessively to eat the crops in the rural areas. As a result, the birds' food, small fish and various types of insects and pests, die. This naturally leads to a shortage of food for birds. Birds no longer stay in these areas without food. In addition, the use of high levels of pesticides in the fields is poisoning the water. As a result, they said, numerous birds die every year after drinking the toxic water.

We spoke to Zahid Sarkar, a trader at the Samaj Bazar in Nimaichhara Union of Chatmohar Upazila. He said that at one time, various birds including pheasants, sparrows, pigeons, dowels, dahuks, chils, and pankauri roamed freely in their area, but now these birds are no longer seen. He said that every winter, thousands of migratory birds flock to the nearby water bodies, including the Shitlai Zamindar house pond in their area. However, he said that since there are currently no open water bodies, there are not many migratory or guest birds this year.

Talking to bird lover Nuruzzaman Sabuj of Khan Morich Union in Bhangura Upazila, he said that once there was a bird sanctuary in this Chalanbil area. But now it is no more. Despite the Forest and Wildlife Conservation Act, due to the lack of proper legal arrangements, all the natural sanctuaries in the area are being destroyed. That is why the birds are also facing a crisis of existence, he said.

Azim Khandaker of Ruposhi village in Bhangura Upazila said that earlier, the rivers of their village used to be filled with flocks of pankauri. Their nests could be seen in trees and bamboo thickets. But now, these birds are no longer seen as trees are cut down for various needs.

An old man named Jamal Hossain of Handial Pakpara village in Chatmohar Upazila said that earlier, the nests of the Babui bird were seen in palm trees, coconut trees, and betel nut trees in the area. Now, due to the cutting down of various old trees including palm trees, the Babui bird and its beautiful nests are no longer seen.

Rashidul Hasan Manik, an agriculture teacher at Baghalbari Madrasa in the same area, said that the existence of any animal depends on two things. One is its safety and the other is food security. These two things are also important for the survival or existence of birds. He said that currently the existence of birds in our area is under threat. He said that it is not due to natural reasons but rather due to human ignorance.

Rafiqul Islam Roni, director of Handial Muniyadighi Technical Agriculture College, said that Chatmohor is an area surrounded by canals. There are many small ponds, canals, ponds, reservoirs, and water bodies here. Along with this, there are many shrubs, forests, grasses, creepers, banyan trees, and many fruit trees. Which are very suitable for birds to live and eat. He said that poison is used to kill grass in ponds and canals. If the use of poison is not stopped, all the birds will die. He said, he believes that it is impossible to preserve birds in the environment unless various steps are taken to create awareness among everyone, maintain fruit trees, and conserve birds.

Babui, the native sandpiper is not seen much now. No one can easily say when they last saw these birds. Where native birds are not seen, it is even more difficult to see European migratory birds such as Taiga Chutki, Bluethroat, and Fidda. However, 78 species of birds were found in Chatmohar Upazila by Saikat Islam, who joined Chatmohar as a UNO on September 10, 2020. After joining Chatmohar as a UNO, he had to run from one union to another for some work. Photography was his favorite and hobby. So when he went out to the countryside, he loved to take pictures in between work and duties. Especially taking pictures of birds was one of his hobbies.

On November 27, 2020, this UNO took the first picture of a bird in the Chatmohar Upazila Parishad premises. The name of that bird was Bhat Shalik. And the last photo he took of the 78th bird was from Paswardanga village of the upazila. The name of that bird was Kalim Pakhi. Among the birds he took, the rare birds were Neel Kantha, Jal Mayur, Shah Bulbuli.

The notable birds seen in Chatmohar at that time were Neel Kantha, Chokh Gelo, Jal Mayur, Neel Rajan, Amber Chutki, Katua Chil, Kamala Bau, Desi Babui, Hotiti, White Khanjan, Shah Bulbuli, Mohanchura, Ban Char-i, Fatikjal, Bharat, Tila Munia, Asian Basant Bauri, Kamala Bau, Chokh Gelo, Kabasi, Kasai Pakhi, Bhomra Choton, Metho Pet Papiya, Saheli and Dahuk . At that time, he found the most species of birds.