We see mandar (erythrina variegata) all over Bangladesh. Also known as coral tree, its bright red flowers bloom in February and last through spring and summer. The tree sheds all leaves during this season, so the flowers stand out. While I have seen flowers on trees as small as four feet, a tall full-grown mandar tree in spring, loaded with crimson, is a sight to behold.

However, among the thousands upon thousands of mandars in Bangladesh, one stands out for birders.

It is in Satchori National Park in Habiganj. Here is how you find it. A hundred metres after you enter the park, the trail splits in two. One part continues straight into a well-worn but narrow hiking trail through the forest. The other part veers to the left, leading to a wide set of cement stairs, perhaps 60-70 steps in all. Climb them and you have arrived at the park's watchtower. Our mandar tree, about five stories high, is on the west side of the tower.

With its flowers in bloom, the tree attracts hundreds of birds. And the birds, in turn, attract dozens, perhaps hundreds of enthusiasts: birdwatchers, nature-lovers, photographers and scientists. In very few other places in Bangladesh can you come so close to birds in the wild.

Today I arrive at 9am and there are seven or eight people up there; one of them is an overnight guest. Another time in early February when the cold wind made you shiver, 1 met two groups that had shown up at daybreak with bundles of sleeping bags and blankets, waiting to watch the birds to alight on the flowers by first light.

And what a show the birds put on! The dominant variety is chestnut-tailed starling (kath shalik), which comes and

goes in flocks like waves. Another common species is red-whiskered bulbul (sipahi bulbul.) But it is the less common birds which draw attention. Green leafbirds (harbola) with their orange foreheads, vernal hanging parrots (lotkon-tia), white-eyes (dhola-chokh), hair-crested drongo (keshori fingey) all take turns landing on the branches, just a few feet from the observers.

They have come to feast: on the insects inside flowers, on the nectar and on parts of the flowers. But they also play, squabble, preen their mates and feed their young.

Something else happens on this day. In the past, a moronic visitor had tossed a polythene bag filled with several plastic bottles into the tree where it had lodged itself into a nook. For months it was an eyesore for every visitor and created a hazard for the wildlife. But today, folks are fed up. My guide Rahim locates a discarded bamboo near the tower, a long, robust piece. Then he, along with other young naturalists visiting the tree - Sayam, Prince, Masud and Foysal - heave and push the bamboo all the way to the top of the tower and, using it like a giant toothpick, poke and dislodge the plastic bag from its niche. A small act perhaps, but a useful one, and if every conscientious traveller in Bangladesh acted like this, we could eliminate the plastic rubbish that sometimes taints our most pristine places.

The Satchori mandar tree should be in bloom through March. From Dhaka it is less than three hours by car. Try to arrive early in the day to avoid the crowds. Enjoy the show!

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