Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project

Char Janajat, 11km U/S of Bridgekm of BridgeI. Streaked Fantail Warbler’s nest (Cisticola juncidis) J. An endemic bird Black-breasted Weaver’sat Kewrakandi, 9.5km U/S of Bridgenest (Ploceus benghalensis) at Kewrakandi, 9.5kmU/S of BridgeFigure 3-26: Bird habitats, terrestrial and aquatic birds.Migratory/Winter Birds55. Winter/guest birds from Himalayas and far away places like Siberia move to relatively warmswampy lands in Bangladesh including the Project area to escape the freezing cold, and feed onsnails and tiny fishes, which are abundant in the rice crops in wetland ecosystem and the swamps inthe Project area. Birds start arriving from early November and stay till March-April. An estimated500,000 birds, about 150 species mainly ducks travel to Bangladesh each winter. The wetlandenvironment, some of the famous species that visit the Project site include the Grey Headed Lapwing,Black Headed Ibis, Common Tern, Indian River Tern, Long Legged-Buzzard, Short-eared Owl, andComb Duck. The arrivals of the flocks provide winter entertainment for tens of thousands of residentswho travel to suburban areas to watch the birds. Bangladesh has its own 400 species of birds, thenumbers are falling rapidly as their habitat comes under attack from urban and industrialencroachment. Table 3-15 shows the bi-monthly survey outcome of migratory/winter birds in theproject boundary. The number of birds is also decreasing as hatcheries, duck farms and othercommercial activities thrive in the wetland. Besides, organized gangs of poachers hunt birds after mid-January when the winter chill and fog subsides. Some of the migratory birds observed during the fieldmonitoring are shown in Figure 3-27.Table 3-15: Bi-monthly survey data (migratory/winter birds) in project areaBird Local NumberEnglish name Scientific name Local nameType status Sighted 1Western YellowAquatic/Motacilla flavaHoldey KhonjonCWV 5WagtailTerrestAquatic/White Wagtail Motacilla alba Dhola KhonjonCWV 60TerrestAquatic/Wood Sandpiper Numenius glareola Bon BatanCWV 8TerrestThreskiornisKalomathaBlack Headed IbisTerrest. UWV 3melanocephalus KastachoraBrown Shrike Lanius cristatus Khoira Latora Terrest. CWV 23-35