Nature Quest: The Hobby of the hills

It was midday when our small team finally found a barely visible footpath through the damp and cold labyrinth inside Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, deep in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. We had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in a patch of the forest where the garjans and civit trees seemed mightier and wiser, shooting up towards zenith. Even in midday, a December mist clung onto the mossy barks of the towering trees like tendrils. An eerie quietness existed, perhaps the moss-covered barks absorbed sound, creating an unearthly hush, and light and shadows danced under our eyes. We were mesmerised as if under a spell of admiration and respect. The trees made sure that there was no horizon and the feeling of claustrophobia was all too real. The sporadic calls of Racket-tailed Drongos and Hill Mynas broke the spell momentarily only to be casted again by the haunting calls of Hoolock Gibbons. A perennial hilly stream flowed over rocks nearby.

The team was conducting biodiversity surveys and the routine involved starting very early before sunrise and head out into the forest, walking the forest trails used by the local tribes, deeper into the forest recording every bird and animal species seen and checking camera traps. We were finally able to follow the barely visible footpath out of that surreal realm and were greeted by the steel grey of a wintry sky. The sky was seen for the first time in hours and the claustrophobic feeling subsided. The footpath widened as we reached the top of a hill and we could see the small indigenous village near our base camp. The lush and sombre forest stretched underneath. While we descended, we spotted a lone, leafless tree, towering over all others. And on the highest branch of that tallest tree, silhouetted against the dull December sky, sat a raptor.

The raptor majestically scanned the valley and hills from its perch. Its head was deep black, almost as if it was wearing a dark mask with long pointed wings. Poor light hindered our visibility and we were able to take a few photographs before leaving as we were still a long way from our base camp. We initially identified the raptor as a sub-species of the Peregrine Falcon.

Couple of weeks later, in the monstrous city of electricity and traffic jams, we discovered that the raptor is not what we had initially thought. It was figured after further analysis that the raptor was an Oriental Hobby and it was the first confirmed record of this species from Bangladesh! Previously, there was just one unconfirmed record that was dismissed as there was no solid evidence.

The Oriental Hobby was just a beautiful surprise from a land of pure magic!

Special thanks to the project, "Biodiversity Conservation through protection of streams of Pablakhali area", implemented by the Department of Environmental Science and Management of North South University, spearheaded by respected Dr Md Jakariya. Thanks to Abdul Majid Shah, Muntasir Akash and Md Foysal for identification of the bird.

Sakib Ahmed is an aspiring conservationist working for IUCN Bangladesh and enjoys a life in wilderness. Sayam U Chowdhury is a conservation biologist currently working for threatened species conservation and research in Bangladesh and abroad.