Nature Notes/Rock Garden of Chandigarh

My recent holiday with my sister and her three children took us more than two thousand miles away in the northern part of India. It was a truly enjoyable time we had. While we were in the city of Chandigarh we visited the Rock Garden. This garden is unique because it is like an open exhibition hall with sculptures, waterfalls, courtyards, and the way waste products have been used to create a garden.. The objects on display are all made from urban and industrial waste. Some of the material used are auto parts, forks, bicycle handle bars, metal wires, porcelain, broken bangles, and so on. It's a huge area with about five thousand sculptures, pathways, labyrinths, and courtyards. 

There are hundreds of figurines on display. The garden was built by Nek Chand Saini and is a must-see list on a visit to Chandigarh. The amazing story of how the garden came to be can be read here.

Waterfall created by recycling rain water

Sculptures made from glass bangles

There were several pink dragonflies hovering near the water

The Rock Garden attracts 5,000 visitors daily.

Our last view of Chandigarh as we headed to Delhi were the tree-lined avenues and some truly beautiful trees

To see more posts, head over to the home of Nature Notes....Michelle's Rambling Woods.

Common Birds For WBW

These are photos that I got from my recent holiday. A pigeon drinks from the hotel pool in Delhi.

A jungle babbler in Haridwar, in the state of Uttarkhand in northern India.. Early in the morning there was a flock of them perched on this trumpet bush.

The hotel we stayed in had several mud nests with the builders flying in and out of them.

A parrot in the garden of Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar, Punjab.

Back home I found a stunned starling on my terrace. For weeks I had been trying to get a clear shot of this bird without luck. Checking to see whether it was injured I placed it on these leaves. There was no injury. But just as I finished taking a few shots it flew away! Talk about luck! You can see why this is also known as the Chestnut-tailed starling.

                           
Before I left for my holiday I had noticed a pair of bulbuls in the process of building a nest. But I didn't know that they had chosen my berry tree to do so. I feel blessed! Here's the female on the nest...

...whereas the male keeps a watchful eye perched on a branch of the same tree.


This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

Nature Notes/Garden Wildlife

I love to photograph every little creature that I see around me. The photos from the collage were taken last summer. The ones below were taken last week. I hope you enjoy going through them.

A gem of a find! Looks like a chrysalis of a tiny butterfly. Not much by way of words today. I'm going on a holiday...leaving in a short while. I'll be visiting/commenting only after I get back after a week. Have a great week, everyone!


To see more participants' posts, head over to Michelle's Nature Notes.

Eagles At The Zoo

The photo of this eagle was taken at our local zoo cum botanical garden. I had forgotten to check the name of the bird so I can't say for sure what kind of eagle this one this.

This huge Flame trees/Delonix regia at the zoo had several eagles either perched, flying off or landing.

To see more of our feathered friends visit the home of World Bird Wednesday.

A Nocturnal Visitor

I was happy to see this little frog find a resting/stalking place on my monstera. This was taken in the first week of April just before the rains came. The next evening the little one found a cosy spot amid the jungle of potted fern.

But now that the rains are here, evenings are never quiet. The incessant croaking of frogs can be heard  outside. Rain and frog-song. The blooming of fragrant flowers. The cycle of seasons all over again. All's right with the world! 

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.

Birds (caught) In The Rain

Bee-eater

 I nearly tripped on the stairs as I ran for the camera at the sight of this bee-eater, the first one this year. It was raining and the wind had just died down. Certainly not a bird watching day. Suddenly a flash of blue and green descended on the wires and sat there for several minutes. On days that do not rain we usually see these pretty birds dive down for the bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Before eating their prey, bee-eaters remove the stinger by repeatedly rubbing and hitting the insect on a hard surface. These birds only catch prey on the wing and ignore flying insects once they land. Throughout the summer months it's a joy to watch these delightful birds.

Another rainy day...I'd assumed that sparrows seek shelter from the rain by sitting under the eaves of our house. But no. A few sparrows preferred to stay put on my berry tree with the rain pouring steadily. Can you spot the two on the extreme left (top)?

To see more of our feathered friends, please visit World Bird Wednesday.