SIDR and the Soondarban

Sidr and the Soondarban- to me the impact of sidr on the south-eastern parts of the Soondarban is 'cosmetic' and not real as it was in 1988. Damage to trees are- uprooting, broken at mid-level of the trunks or canopy and wilting of leaves. Uprooted trees-plants to be left as they are. Broken trees are gone case. Trees that lost leaves are recovering fast. All sand and mud- flats are recovering too. Tiger pug marks, movement of deer, rhesus macaques busy feeding, fiddler crabs making spectacular 'chela-showing' dances, mudskippers busy feeding, migrants like Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Shanks, Sandpipers, Golden Plovers, ruff and reeve, usually busy feeding kingfishers like Black-capped, white-collared, common, white-throated, brown-winged, and ruddy, Brahminy kite and white-bellied sea eagle hawking for fishes, crested serpent eagle, Shikra, crested goshawk and many bush-forest loving birds indicate they have been impacted least.

Soondarban is reovering in an unprecendent speed that even i have not visulaised before i had visited it and wrote an article in the science page of the daily prothom alo on the 25th november 2007. visited soondarban from 21st to 24th december 2007. bravo soondarban.

Sidr- the worst cyclone-cum-tidal surge in Bangladesh

I visited the cyclone SIDR-hit areas of the Raienda Upazila, Bagerhut District in Bangladesh during 18th to 21st December 2007. The pictures will highlight my visit and little relief work we did. We could provide 50 pcs of Corrugated Iron Sheet per family for 21 fams and 2 mosques in addition to Tk5000/ per fam and mosque, a complete fishing gear to a fisherman and little cash to 2 widows. Donations came from my family and a renouned Bangladeshi zoologist-cum-diplomat.

birds8i2008

8i08 visited SafaPark, Pivot Field, DM Sewage Treatment Plant, Al Warsan Lake and saw 4 Mistle Thrush(2safa, 2field), 2 Stonechat, 9 Glossy Ibis (field), c.20 Mallards in safa, c.30 in Warsan; 2 Eurasian Wigeon, 4 Shoveler, c.12 Common teal, 2juv Flamingo, 6 BW Stilt, 2 LGrebe, c.200BHGull, 1Indian Moorhen, 2 GHeron, etc. in safa; 1Northern, 1Sociable, 4 WT & 2RW Lapwings in field; c.2000 BHGull, c.50Ruff, 9BWStilt, 6CommonStarling, 3 MHarrier, many CattleEgret, Bank and Common Mynas, Ring and Palm Doves, GFrancolin, IRoller, Hoopoe,WPipit, YWagtail, WWagtail, HWheatear, CLark, 2Buff-ellied Pipit, 1RPipit, 1BThroat, 3 CRWarbler, 4 BHGull, 3WSandpiper, 6CSandpiper, etc, in Pvt Fld; many CPochard, Mallard, c.400BHGull, 5 GCormorant, 15GHeron, 2SQHeron, 6ECoot, many IMoorhen, many LGrebe, 8BWStilt, etc in Warsan.