Oceanic Birds of Species Make Unusual Visit to Rajshahi

Oceanic birds of four species are now on a rare surprise visit to the Padma River in this northwestern region, miles off the southern coasts of the country, even where they are not usually seen.

“The birds of four oceanic species are seen roving over the Padma River for the past one week and they were seen flying even yesterday . . . this is an unprecedented scene in the town,” a media journalist and bird watcher stationed in Rajshahi reported.

Dr. Aminuzzaman Mohammad Saleh Reza, Professor of Zoology at Rajshahi University, said that all four bird species seen in Padma were oceanic birds that were not even known to have been seen in the Bay of Bengal coast in Bangladesh bordering India.

Two local bird watchers, Dr Moinul Ahsan Shamim and Mustafizur Rahman, first noticed the bird species in the Padma River and took their photos instantly.

Ornithologists immediately identified them as “sooty tern” (Onychoprion fuscatus), “bridled tern” (Onychoprion anaethetus), Long-tailed skua/jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) and “wilson’s storm petrel” (Oceanites oceanicus).

Experts speculated super cyclone Amphan that earlier this month, Bangladesh 's coastline bordering India might have triggered an unparalleled surprise ride.

The Amphan was clearly taking a fairly odd path, marking its effect in the Rajshahi area as well as on the southern coasts on May 20.

Several experts said that the birds might have found relief in halting their forced long journey as the cyclone was weakening in Rajshahi, but had the strength of the storm continued, the winds might have driven them further upstream.

Reza said according to taxonomic studies, the sooty tern is a seabird of tropical oceans that breeds islands throughout the equatorial zone; bridled tern breeds in colonies on rocky islands while it nests in a ground scrape or hole and lays one egg.

He said long-tailed skua/jaeger breeds in the high Arctic of Eurasia and North America, with major populations in Russia, Alaska, and Canada and smaller populations around the rest of the Arctic and it is a seasonal migratory bird that winters in the south Atlantic and Pacific.

Wilson’s storm petrel, Reza said, breeds on the Antarctic coastlines and nearby islands such as the South Shetland Islands during the summer of the southern hemisphere. It spends the rest of the year at sea and moves into the northern oceans during the southern hemisphere’s winter.

In the past, many estuarine birds have been seen migrating to coastal rivers due to numerous natural hazards such as cyclone, earthquake, hurricane, and other tidal waves, but have returned to their environments after hazards.

Ornithologists said the Rajshahi area hosts dozens of migratory birds throughout the winter, but none of them are ocean species.

“These birds are likely to go back to their habitat following the downstream river channel . . . they may even stay here for a longer period if they get food for their survival,” Reza predicted.

A study team earlier this year had found 37 bird species in various shoals (chars) in the district of Padma during a weekly survey undertaken by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) under its Bangladesh Wild Bird Monitoring Programme.

Bangladesh Birds Club, Rajshahi Bird Club and Department of Forestry jointly supported the survey.

Source: BSS