What more could a small stream can offer other than happiness?

Two months ago, I started observing a small pool of water and its adjoining small freshwater swamp (Less than 10m*10m) fed by a small third-order stream that flows along a highway outside and close to Kudremukh national park, Karnataka, India. I visit this spot every day in the afternoon while I walk to a nearby hotel. I was fascinated by the number of diverse odonates this small aquatic ecosystem can harbor. During the last two months, I spotted around eight species of odonates in that spot. Three out of the eight species spotted were Western ghats endemic which made it much more interesting.

This pool is surrounded by an areca plantation, coconut plantation, and a busy Mangalore highway. Despite its location in the middle of such a human-dominated landscape, It still supports unique and diverse wildlife.
The pattern of spotting them varies a lot. A species I spot on one day cannot be seen on another day, and then suddenly, it appears after few days. One fascinating species I spotted there is the Rubytailed hawklet, A small beautiful dragonfly endemic to western ghats. For the first two weeks, I spotted them regularly( Even up to four individuals at a time) and then disappeared for a month. Later again, I spotted them two days ago. I was fortunate to click a mating photo of them. Since this species display sexual dimorphism(male and female look differently in colors, size, etc), it was easy to tell them apart. Sadly, Most of the spotted individuals from this species were male and only two times I encountered females. Not sure why this disproportionate sex ratio is observed.

It also upsets me to think about the future of these small habitats which is on the edge of existence. It is high time to document these kinds of small natural treasures which could possibly make way to conserve them.

Posted on Οκτώβριος 02, 2021 1052 ΠΜ by ramanarayanan