Birding in the Padma

In recent years, chars of the Padma river in Rajshahi have become popular for birding particularly during winter. They have been in my wish list but my plans never materialized for one reason or another. So I was delighted when an opportunity came along to spend a day birding the Padma.

And so on a Friday night, my friend Niaz and I were on Platform 1 of Dhaka Airport train station, waiting for the Padma Express train to Rajshahi. The train was broad gauge with wide and comfortable compartments. We slept through the night in our bunk-beds and arrived at Rajshahi early morning.

After refreshing ourselves in the facilities of the spacious waiting room, we ate a breakfast of omelette, paratha and chapati at the station's restaurant and headed out. First we went to visit the bird ringing camp by the river, the subject of Tangents last week. Then we took a rickshaw to a ghat in the riverbank to meet our pre-arranged boatman.

The morning was spent exploring chars on the left (downstream) side of Rajshahi. We found Sandpipers, Ruddy Shelducks, Plovers, Grey Herons and a host of gulls. In one char we saw a flock of thousands of Barn Swallows moving about energetically. A large flock of Pied Avocets – delightful birds with upturned beaks that spend their time probing the mud for food - flew around our boat. But we had no luck finding the Black-necked Stork, one of our target birds.

At mid-day, we turned around and returned to our starting point. Then we explored the Padma upstream. Landing on a large char, we walked across hard dried clay covered by scrub. Hiding in the bushes were Indian Thick-Knees with their large bulbous eyes which scampered to avoid us and then flew off. On another char, we walked inland a kilometer approaching a beel. As we stepped near a bush, four reddish birds, hiding in plain sight, shot out at great speed. They were Quails, uncommon to see and difficult to photograph. Two large flocks of Black-winged Stilts and Spotted Redshanks rested in the beel. The flying Stilts with their long red legs looked like ballerinas in the air.

I found these chars to be different from the chars around Nijhum Dwip near the Bay of Bengal. Here they were firm and sandy, as opposed to the deep, gelatinous mud in chars down south.

That evening we joined a group of birders, including members of the Rajshahi Bird Club, to search for a Scops Owl which was known to inhabit trees in an area. This was another of our target birds. After repeated scanning of all the trees in that area with flashlights, we eventually found the owl. It did not reciprocate the pleasure we felt at the meeting.

Because of the richness of the bird population in uninhabited Rajshahi chars, Bangladesh Bird Club has proposed creating a bird sanctuary there. If implemented, this would be a milestone for conservation in Bangladesh, to be enjoyed by generations henceforth.

Practicalities: Trains are the best option if you decide to go birding to Rajshahi, as flights arrive late in the day and you lose precious morning hours. Some boatmen know the birding spots better than others; it pays to do some advance research. When getting on the boat for the whole day, bring lots of drinking water and food to sustain you. Wear sun hats, comfortable shoes and sunglasses if you need them. Bring your camera!

facebook.com/ikabirphotographs or follow “ihtishamkabir” on Instagram.