Indian Marsh Mongoose& Other Creatures

 

I have often mentioned the marshy plot of land near our house. With its thick growth of aquatic plants,it's home to some animals and feeding ground to many. In summer, swarms of dragonflies hover above the colacasia that grows to more than a little over six feet. Then the bee-eaters come and feast on them. It's a joy to watch so many of these winged creatures. With all the insects and the worms that must be available thoughout the year, the regular birds that we see in the vicinity are the sparrows, shrikes, Indian myna, Asian pied starlings, the omnipresent crows, spotted doves, chestnut-tailed starlings, tree kingfisher, tailor birds,egrets who feed in winter, Oriental magpie robins, and the white-breasted water hen. At night you hear the constant croaking of frogs and the sight of the fireflies look like we're looking down at a suspended sky filled with hundreds of shining stars!

Aquatic plant with clusters of white blooms often visited by butterflies

As I type this, the noise of the earth-mover machine drowns almost every sound. More than half of the wetland has been filled up with tons of soil and now the levelling of the soil is being done. A small area has been left untouched so far. But I don't think it's going to remain that way for long. Yesterday I saw this mongoose from my son's bedroom window. Seeing a mongoose in its habitat reaffirmed the fact that the wetland creatures were at their most vulnerable. All the years we have lived here, we knew this area was home to the water or marsh mongoose but they are so fast we never really see them still. In fact I have never been able to get a decent photograph of them. It's only because there isn't much area left for them to run or hide that I can see them from my house across the road. 

Looking up online about the Indian marsh mongoose/Herpestes palustris, here's what I found. That they live near large but shallow water bodies that are fully or partially covered by a thick growth of aquatic plants. They live in burrows mainly along the slopes of the water bodies. They are diurnal and follow a particular route for foraging. They feed on fish and aquatic snails. Before sunset they return to their burrows. The mating season is March and there are generally two or three cubs in a litter. Below is a look at some other lives within the vicinity of this wetland.

Flocks of sparrows feed on insects (although I only got three of them here). Looks like afternoons are their favourite time of the day to feed here.

A typical summer sight would be bee-eaters catching their prey......

...and dragons and damsels embellishing most leaves or stems with Mother Nature's colours. I'll have to wait and see how much of change 'development' will bring to my nature notes. The effects of the death of a wetland will surely be evident in the coming years.


I'm linking up to Michelle's Nature Notes.