Introduction: The West Bengal coast
stretches along the Bay of Bengal for 170 kilometers from east to west. The
eastern boundary (21° 40.849'N) borders Bangladesh and the western boundary is
near Digha (21° 37.012'N)
on the state border with Orissa. The Hugli (or Hoogly) River, a channel of the
River Ganges and the Subarnarekha meet the ocean at this funnel-shaped major
estuary of the Ganges and a good number of very large tidal
rivers like Thakuran, Maltla, Raimangal, etc flow down the delta weaving their
channels through a multitude of islands. Many small sandy islands and mudflats mark the river
channels and the coast and most of them get completely inundated during high
tide. Much of the western part of the coast is now inhabited and cultivated.
Industry and tourism has established a strong presence in the area between the
Subarnarekha river on the west and the Hugli in the east. Parts of the
forested area around the Thakuran River are protected and retain
their natural mangrove habitat and the area east of the Thakuran falls under the
core area of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve - an area where no access is generally
allowed to casual bird-watchers or tourists.
The beaches: The
low-lying, mesotidal tropical coast in these parts is
generally characterized by a flat inter-tidal foreshore and a gently sloping
gradient towards the sea. In general the beaches have a
east-west extension of variable width
with a 50-60m wide backshore
demarcated by sand dunes and a 500m
foreshore which is tidally influenced.
The beaches here are generally hard with a mix of medium to fine sand. Large
amounts of sediments flowing down the Hugli and the Subarnarekha deposit mud on the
beaches creating estuarine mudflats and sand bars at many places. The delta is
marked by a large number of tidal bars, tidal islands, beaches, mudflats,
sand-flats, coastal dunes, creeks, inlets and mangrove swamps.
Background:
The large variety of habitats comprising of dense
mangrove forests, muddy creeks and channels, sandy beaches and
intertidal mudflats hosts a good mix of wintering waders and other water
birds. Very little study of the area has been done in the past due to
inaccessibility and resultantly little is known about the birds of these
coasts. With the improvement of infrastructure and more birders willing
to travel it is now possible to visit the area in winter and some work
in this direction has already been started by the members of the
Bengalbird google forum. This supplements earlier field work by members
of Prakriti Samsad and, more recently, by the Wader Study Group (see
Reference1 below).
Our effort will be to continue the fieldwork and attempt to understand
the significance of the West Bengal coast as a hosting site for key
waterbird populations. There is already evidence that migrants arriving
here are not just trans-Siberian but also those that use the
East Asian-Australasian Flyway
(more here). There are also indications that many species use this coast
as a 'staging area' for onward journeys further south. These and other
observations require greater study and understanding.
Purpose:
This section introduces the area and lists the bird species that have been
observed here. It is meant to facilitate birding on the coast and help the
process of accumulating information. It also introduces a new winter birding
hotspot - Henrys Island. The author would welcome more information the birds
of West Bengal coast and can be reached at
sumitsen@rediffmail.com.
Contributions will be acknowledged.
Birds:
Surveys since 2000 have recorded about 120 bird species on
the coast. The most evident and abundant wintering waterbird species are
Little Terns and Greater Sand Plovers. Large concentrations of other species
like Small Pratincoles, Ruff, Pallas's Gull, Common Terns, Godwits etc are
not regular through the winter indicating passage movements. Many species
are found spread out in small numbers and can often be strays. These include
Asian Dowitcher, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Red Knot and Heuglin's (or
Steppe) Gulls.
Turnstones and Great Knots, Henrys
Island
The area is a known breeding site for Little Terns and
Great-crested Terns. Black Noddies are known to occur and a Lesser Frigatebird has been recovered inland suggesting movement on the coast. As a
general rule flock sizes are not large and high tide concentrations of mixed
species can add up to 300-500 birds at most key sites.
Resident
raptors include White-bellied Sea Eagles and rare records of Booted Eagle,
butep Buzzard, Eurasian Hobby
and Amur Falcons indicate passage movement. A variety of kingfishers are to
be found and include Black-capped and Collared. Stray sightings of Dollarbird and Chestnut-winged Cuckoo are suggestive of greater off-shore
diversity than what has been recorded from the limited visits. Full list
here.
Sites:
Much of the coast has been developed for tourism and infrastructure for
overnighting exists almost through the entire stretch. Accessibility has
improved with good approach roads and it is possible to reach most
destinations in 4 to 5 hours by road. Public transport in the shape of State
run long distance buses and trains are also available and motorized country
boats can be locally hired for visits to outlying islands. While it is
possible to do same day trips from Kolkata to most of these destinations, it
is recommended that al least one night be spent at location.
|
If you have a day to spare in
Kolkata in winter, a full day trip to Henrys Island
is a strongly recommended birding option. Henrys Island combines
great natural beauty with a variety of waterbirds and mangrove
specialists. If you have time in hand, Henrys can also be
combined with a short boat trip to the forested Jambu Dwip
(Island) - a memorable experience. Help Tourism
is developing a package for day trips from Kolkata at our
request - talk to them at 9831031980 and make that trip! |
Sectors:
1.
Digha/Shankarpur/Mandarmoni/Junput:
This area lies between the Subranarekha river on the border with Orissa and
the Hugli River. Developed as a tourist destination, the sector attracts
large holiday crowds and bird life is generally sparse
though the Junput area holds promise.
2.
Sagar Island/Herobhanga or Haribhanga Island: Sagar is
a large island on the mouth of the Hugli and offers good habitat for a
variety of waterbirds on its long and varied coastline. Herobhanga is an
isloated and seasonally inhabited sandy island off the coast of Sagar
island. It offers safe roosting for large numbers of waders and seabirds.
3.
Bakkhali/Frazerganj/Henrys Island/Jambu Island:
Bakkhali is a little visited beach resort about 80 kilometers due south of
Kolkata. It the last inhabited island on the eastern sea face till the
border with Bangladesh. Frazerganj and Bakkhali are connected on the coast
and the almost uninhabited Henrys Island lies to the east of Bakkhali and is
separated by a wide, deep and muddy creek. Protected Jambu Island lies off
the Frazerganj coast and is uninhabited. Boats from Frazerganj jetty do
round tours of the island.
4.
Kalash Island:
Kalash Island, in South 24 Parganas, is a part of Sundarbans National Park and
lies at the estuary of the River Matla. This is tiger country. But being
outside the core area, visitors with armed guards are permitted to get down
on the beach. Access by boat to this wide beach is usually from the Forest
Department's Kalash Camp which is upriver. Kalash has most of the coastal
birds and is a specially good place to find uncommon waders. Great
Thick-knees are a feature on the beach. A visit to Kalash combines the
Sundarbans experience with bird-watching.
Climate:
Tropical humid climate dominated by NE & SW monsoons. Annual average
rainfall varies between 1900mm to 2400mm. Winter lows 140C,
Summer highs 340C
References / Further reading:
1.Wader Study Group Bulletin 108 December 2005: The Indian Sunderbans: an
important wintering site for Siberian waders by C. ZÖCKLER and others.
2. Bengalbird Google Group reports
3. International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts, November, 2003. Article
by A K Bhattacharya and others
4.
Wikitravel
5.
The Telegraph story on Henrys Island
Travel Help:
Help Tourism at www.helptourism.com
Sumit K
Sen
Kolkata, India
