From Siberia to Sonadia

Migratory bird Great Knot arrives in Bangladesh. The photo was taken from the Sonadia Islands last year.
Photo: The writer

Our five-member team left for Cox's Bazar on the night of 16 January last year to watch migratory birds in the Sonadia Islands. Arriving at the Cox's Bazar in the morning, we rested at the hotel then rushed to Fishery Ghat, where our guide Gias and the sareng (boat captain) Nur Alam were waiting with speedboats. After a while, the speedboat crossed the Bakkhali river and proceeded towards the Maheshkhali channel.

On both sides of the river there are coastal saltwater garan forests. About two hours later the speedboat touched the shore of Kaladia Char. There were vast expanses of water stretched into the distance, just water and nothing else, as far as the eye can see. A cargo ship was anchored at a short distance, waiting to be unloaded. A piece of land from the vast expanse of water seemed to be peeking at us. Ah, what a wonderful sight!

Suddenly I saw a flock of large seagulls near the char. I got down from the speedboat into the knee-deep mud and started walking towards the birds slowly. As I moved forward, the birds flew away. So I changed direction and walked towards the char. The entire char was full of small shore birds of different species. I could hardly decide which one to take a picture of, there were so many! Then three large shore birds came down near us and started running their beaks in the mud. I quickly took up my binoculars. I was thrilled.

The birds seen on the Kaladia Char were the Great Knot or Eastern Knot, locally known as ‘adakaiche’ or ‘boro chapakhi’, a rare and endangered winter migratory bird in this country. The scientific name of this bird of Scolopacidae species is Calidriste nuirostris. These birds reside in northeastern Siberia. In winter, they migrate to the coasts of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the north coast of the Middle East and Australia. Their breeding season stretches from May to June. At this time, they make their nests with lichen in shallow holes in the hills or rocky areas of the Siberian tundra region and lay four eggs there. Both male and female brood, that is, sit on the eggs. Those eggs hatch within 21-22 days.

As soon as the eggs are hatched, the mother leaves the chicks at home. Therefore, the responsibility of caring for the children rests with the father. Chicks learn to fly in 20-25 days and become fertile at about two years of age. Their lifespan is seven to eight years. An adult Great Knot is 26-28 cm in length, wingspan is 56-7 cm long and the average weight of this bird is 115-126 grams. The beak of the chubby and small-headed bird is a bit long. The upper part of the body of the non-breeding bird with white fringe is brownish-grey. Their chest and belly is speckled and eyes are blackish brown. Their feet and claws are green. But the appearance changes during the breeding season. The upper part of the body becomes dark brown. The amount of the speckles on the chest-abdomen increases. As it is bigger in size than the reddish little stints (chapakhi), it also has more spots in the abdomen. Apart from that, the beak is slightly curved downwards.

Divided into small or medium groups, the Great Knots roam in the coastal areas of Chittagong, Barisal and Khulna divisions in winter. Mixed groups of other beach birds are also often seen. Walking on soft soil or silt, these birds eat the aquatic insects, snails and other marine invertebrates from the soft bottom of the mud with their beaks. During the breeding season, these birds can eat fruits too. They can fly at high speed. Sometimes while flying, they also whistle in a low voice “knutt, knutt”.

ANM Aminur Rahman is professor and BSMRAU, Gazipur.

This feature appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashish Basu