Indo-Chinese Roller: Tale of a 'new bird'
Bangladesh now boasts a new bird and even more fortunately, it is often seen in Dhaka city. The bird is not a new arrival but has
Nature Quest: First flamingo in Bangladesh
A hunting party found a flock of five large birds feeding at the braided Jamuna river towards the end of December last year. For years
Nature Quest: Rare bird seen in Rajshahi
An elusive bird of the rock is now a confirmed resident of Rajshahi. And the name of the bird is “White-tailed Stonechat”.
Nature Quest: Save nesting grounds for birds
A few pieces of wasteland that happen to be the breeding grounds for three species of “globally threatened” birds have
Nature Quest: Can we bring peafowls back?
Can we bring the wild peafowls back to Bangladesh? Is it possible for the jostling pedestrians of the bustling capital
Nature Quest: The bird land
Rajshahi has an impressive bird-habitat quite unrivalled by any in other cities or towns. In the dry season, anyone can reach this delightful spot just by crossing the shallow Padma River quietly flowing along the outskirts of Rajshahi city. Locals call the place Majher Char, meaning the middle island. As the
Nature Quest: Courtship pageant in Tangua
Tangua haor is a mini ocean during monsoon. But in winter much of the water is gone and the haor turns into a maze of interconnected wetlands called beels. Once away from the muddy shores overgrown with reeds, one can see through the clear beel water a magnificent green carpet of plants at the bottom. This garden, hidden underneath the water, is visited by thousands of ducks during the winter months every year.
Close to nature, on the city outskirts
On this chilly Friday morning, you may enjoy a stroll through warm sand dunes without going far from the city centre. This little known white expanse of flat sand is on the other side of the Buriganga and incredibly close to city dwellers. From Dhaka Zero Point you may cycle to this lustrous area in less than 30 minutes on holidays. You take the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge to cross the river and turn left to follow a narrow asphalt road, which leads you to a place called Sowarighat some two to three kilometres away. Stretches of fallow land are all around Sowarighat. A branch of Buriganga once flowed through it and people took boats to cross that rivulet. Now the rivulet is dead and you cross it walking over an earth dam.
Nature Quest: Go birding in Purbachal
On holidays Purbachal is a few minutes' ride from the northern residential areas of Dhaka city. But the contrast between the claustrophobic concrete jungle of Dhaka's residential areas and the expanse of Purbachal is as stark as you can imagine. You feel the difference in the air quality as soon as you leave the Airport Road, heading east for Purbachal. The wide new road that takes you there is still unnamed but is popularly called "300 Feet Road".
Nature lovers' campus
Nature lovers living in Dhaka City have very few places to go. A few green patches like Ramna Garden or Gulshan Park are always packed