Thousands of migratory birds have taken shelter at Nilsagor in Nilphamari, a safe sanctuary for guest birds. The birds have started arriving at the water body with the advent of winter.
At the outset of winter, the guest birds flock here to escape the unbearable cold of Siberia as well as the Himalayas. They fly thousands of miles and finally make their temporary abode here. Here they get enough food to survive.
A large number of visitors have started coming here to enjoy this wonderful natural beauty. It seems the migratory birds are mesmerizing the visitors with their chirping and fluttering.
Caretaker of the sanctuary Ataur Rahman said more than 10,000 guest birds arrived in Nilsagar this winter after the district administration took a project titled 'Program for Creating Natural Forest' to ensure food and shelter to the guest birds a couple of years agoMigratory birds start coming to Nilsagar in early November and stay till March-April in a bid to protect themselves from the terrible cold of the northern countries, he said.
As the fluttering and chirping of thousands of winter guest birds thrilled the visitors, authorities declared the water body as birds' sanctuary in 1999, Ataur informed.
According to Ataur, Kabir Bin Anwar, the Director General (DG-Admin) at the Prime Minister’s office, has inaugurated the project under which food and shelter are ensured to the birds. At the same time, a congenial atmosphere has been created for them.
Contacted, Nilphamari Deputy Commissioner Hafizur Rahman said: “Because of the special initiative of the district administration, arrival of migratory birds increased tremendously at Nilsagor this year.”
Nilsagor at Nilphamari: A safe sanctuary for guest birds in the month of winter, Nilsagar, an enchanting water body located in Nilphamari district under Rangpur division, turns into a safe sanctuary for thousands of guest birds. In 1999, Nilsagar situated on 53.60 acres of land was officially declared as a bird sanctuary, relevant sources said.
Every winter, the water body wears a beautiful look with big and colourful water lilies and different types of migratory birds that start coming here from the beginning of November.
Around 15 species of migratory birds come here every year. Boro Sorali which is known as greater whistling ducks and Chhoto Sorali which is known as the lesser whistling ducks are found more in Nilsagar than other species.
According to a local historian, Md Nasiruddin, who wrote a book titled ‘Nilphamarir Itihas,’ the ancient name of Nilsagor is Binna Dighi. In the 8th BC, the then Hindu king Raja Virat, being instructed in a dream by the goddess, dug the water body and named it after his beloved daughter, Binnaboti, a sacred spot for Hindus. Muslims also maintained it as a sacred site.
Arrival of migratory birds declined to 1000-2000 as several thousand century-old mother trees were felled for developing the tourist spot causing scarcity of shelter and food for birds, said a local journalist.
There were numerous indigenous trees like Banyan, Black Berry, mango, jackfruit, Dumur, Kadam and others and many birds survived eating their fruits and took shelter on them at night, but due to random felling of trees, many birds disappeared.
Ignoring experts’ warning, the authority concerned planted saplings of foreign origin like ‘Shishu’, ‘Mahogany’, ‘Eucalyptus’ and others instead of local varieties which do not grow big having bushy branches that is needed for bird shelter and birds’ food,” he added.
Ornithologists warned that many birds even do not sit or rest on trees of foreign origin which are unfamiliar to them. But, their warning went unheeded resulting in decline in birds here for the past few years. However, this year, a large number of guest birds flocked here.
Many visitors come from different parts of the country as well as from abroad. The district administration has urged the tourists not to disturb the birds by throwing stones at them as they are a boon for us and our ecosystem.
Any tourist can travel to Nilphamari by train or bus from elsewhere in the country. For the tourists who want to visit from Dhaka, they can fly here by air. An airport is located at Sayeedpur, a railway city and a upazila centre, about 10 kilometres off the district town. Available buses, including tourist buses will bring them to Nilphamari within half-an-hour. There are residential hotels as well as government Circuit House and Duk Bungalow in the town where tourists can stay comfortably.