Mannar Island is a bird paradise that survived Sri Lanka's civil war. Now an Australian mining company wants its sand Posted TueTuesday 22 updated WedWednesday 23 Fishing is one of the main industries on the island. ( Print text only Cancel As a small child, Shreen Abdul Saroor remembers getting up before dawn with her father to spy on the masses of migratory birds that would visit her island. The birds were on their way down the Central Asian flyway — a migration path that crosses 30 countries from Siberia to the Indian Ocean. "We would hide somewhere and … we don't make any noise," Ms Saroor recalls.