Get Started in Birdwatching
Sometimes I am invited to present a slide show on birds of Bangladesh at gatherings. When I finish, some common questions come from the audience. “How do I start birdwatching?”, “What are some good spots in or around Dhaka?”, and “If so-and-so is a 'common' bird how come we never see it?”
As we saw in this column last week, Bangladesh is extraordinarily rich in birdlife. After you have had some practice, you can see plenty of birds in an hour or two in a place with trees, or an open field, or near water bodies. You should carry a pair of binoculars, wear comfortable shoes, dress in muted colours, and carry a field guide. Arm yourself with lots of patience. A camera with telephoto lens is helpful if you want to identify the birds later.
Identification was the most difficult problem I faced when I started watching birds. Recognizing a bird beyond our commonest ones (fingey, doel, shalik, bulbul) – caused me a great deal of frustration. I would pore over books and field guides, search the Internet, and finally in desperation call on a friend or two who knew about birds. It was a struggle every time.
My breakthrough came when I joined the Bangladesh Bird Club, founded by our eminent birder Enam Ul Haque. This knowledgeable, dedicated, hard-working and friendly group accelerated my avian education. Once I had climbed over the initial hurdle of about 15-20 birds, it became much easier to identify other ones.
Today if I see a bird I cannot identify I am excited because there is a good chance it is a “lifer” for me, that is, the first time in my life I am seeing this bird - a different reaction than five years ago!
Where to find these birds? Dhaka's parks, as well as the Botanical Garden and Zoo, are home to many species of birds. In winter, migrant birds arrive there, swelling the bird population. (Incidentally, migrants include not just ducks, but also many types of songbirds.)
If you have time to explore beyond Dhaka, say, a few hours on a weekend morning, there are good birding places close by. The fields of Purbachol have many species of birds, but it is best if you go with someone who knows the right spots so you don't waste time searching. Jahangirnagar University and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) in Savar are well-known to bird enthusiasts. There are rich spots in Keraniganj across the Buriganga, but you will need a guide.
Ready for multi-day trips? You can visit the haors and reserve forests of Sylhet. A trip to Sundarban is rewarding in many ways, but birding is a big attraction for me. For the more adventurous, the chars along our coastline, including Nijhum Dwip, offer magnificent birding. In recent years, the chars of Padma river in Rajshahi have yielded unusual species, but I am yet to visit them.
Once I became attuned to birds, I began to see more common birds, for example, ioras, bee-eaters, munias, woodpeckers and swifts. Before, I had hardly noticed them.
This is the time many people set goals for the year. Why not put birdwatching in your list of new year's resolutions? It will give you many hours of pleasure, teach you about our beautiful country and open nature's secrets to you.
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