The Kulick bird sanctuary, which is one
of the major attractions of north Bengal, has started bustling
with the arrival of the winged wonders. Migratory birds like
the open billstorks, herons, cormorants and egrets have started
flocking the sanctuary since the last week of June. According
to forest officials, around 20,000 birds have already arrived
indicating more arrivals over the next few weeks.
Situated on the bank of Kulick river on
the outskirts of Raiganj of North Dinajpur district, the bird
sanctuary is a major tourist attraction of the region. All
was not well with the sanctuary the past few years as the
arrival of the birds dwindled for several reasons. Forest
officials believe the arrivals this year would compensate
the past few years’ shortfall.
According to the forest department figures,
around 81,000 birds turned up in the sanctuary in 2004 but
the number started falling thereafter. In 2005, 75,000 birds
came to the sanctuary which went down to 70,000 in 2006. According
to wild life experts, the migratory birds were suffering from
insecurity within the sanctuary and started taking shelter
in the trees surrounding the sanctuary.
Mr Gautam Tantia, secretary of the People
for Animals said: “Rampant stealing of birds’
eggs in the sanctuary and scarcity of food forced the birds
to take shelter elsewhere.” Mr AK Das, divisional forest
officer, social forest division Raiganj said: “A study
reveals that migratory birds like to build their nests on
tall trees. As the number of tall trees within the sanctuary
was not enough to accommodate them, they started build their
nests in the tall trees surrounding the forest and in areas
where food is available. To accommodate the total number of
birds in the sanctuary we have decided to increase the number
of trees. The forest department has planted around 15,000
saplings, especially of the fast growing variety, so that
in the next two years more migratory birds can find a shelter
in this sanctuary,” he added. |
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