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TANGENTS

Boating at Baikka

BY IHTISHAM KABIR
Baikka Beel is part of Hail Haor, a wetland south of Moulvibazar, about twenty kilometers' drive from town.
The Beel of 250 acres is a wetland sanctuary in the midst of the fisheries and paddyfields of Hail Haor which covers over 10000 acres in monsoon. Fishing is not allowed at Baikka; neither is hunting. The Government of Bangladesh and USAID jointly set up the Sanctuary, which is managed by the local community.
In winter, Baikka Beel (and, to some extent, the rest of Hail Haor) attracts large numbers of a wide variety of migratory and local birds which come here for the fish and aquatic vegetation. This shallow lake surrounded by farmlands and tea garden hills on all sides, its water punctuated by great masses of water hyacinth and lotus, is possibly my most favourite place in Bangladesh.
On this December morning I arrived at the visitor center at 9 A.M. The dreaded winter fog was absent and visibility was good, so I decided to find a boatman to take me around the lake.
Things did not look promising as we started out in the small dinghy. A few pond herons (kani boga), parked among floating aquatic plants, took off as the boat followed a watery trail through the water hyacinth.
Then the purple swamphens (kalem) appeared. They were accompanied by common moorhens (pati panmurgi) which ran and skittered among the water plants aided by their incredibly long and skinny toes.
The thing about photographing birds is that you have to be prepared because birds are all about surprises.
I was looking through my camera when a rushing sound like an airplane
came from my left. Several hundred whistling ducks (shorali) took off as we neared a large island of water hyacinth. More groups continued taking off -like dominoes - as our boat moved along, creating a racket with their whistle.
Straight ahead, on the water's surface, was a group of common coots (pati koot.) One of them skimmed several steps on the water before taking off, leaving a track on the water's surface. The others followed suit, all of them leaving their ephemeral mark on the water.
We decided to head east, into the sun, where a group of egrets (bolt) stood in a line at the edge of a water hyacinth strip. Egrets are very common, but their beauty never ceases to amaze me. These egrets were standing absolutely still, watching the water, waiting for unsuspecting fish.
I looked up to check for raptor birds which often scan the water looking for smaller birds or other prey. Instead I found a large flock of openbill storks (shamuk-khol) - a hundred or more -that was encircling high above. Perhaps they were trying to find a promising spot to land and look for mollusks, their favourite food.
Other ducks flew by quickly. I recognized some: gadwalls (piong hash) by their wing pattern, pygmy geese (bali hash) by their small size, and common shelducks (pati chokachoki) by their striking orange colour. Others remained unknown.
There are many beautiful places on our earth. But on this day, once again, I found Baikka Beel to be my slice of paradise.
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