EVERY APRIL, The Mustard Seed Art Company (of which I am proud to be a member) holds its annual summer camp for kids. This summer, one of the events was a boat trip to Cumbarjua, home of the Marsh Crocodile and a vast number of birds. It was an experience neither I, nor the children (I hope) will forget.

Perched on a fishing pole near the Zuari bridge, was the white-bellied sea eagle. At 15 metres, with its razor sharp talons and sinister hooked beak, this 74 cm predator is very formidable. I don't know which was more touching, the raptor itself or the awe it struck in the 30 children!

It was low tide as we entered the Cumbarjua canal, and large numbers of waders - Paddy birds, large and small Egrets, Grey Herons trudged about the mud-flat in search of molluscs, crabs and fish. Every now and then the egrets would fly up and land elsewhere, gracefully. It was easy to see why they are called the ballet dancers of the air.

But no crocodile. Further up we spotted India's largest Kingfisher, the stork-billed Kingfisher. As we drew near, it flew off to another tree, so we turned the boat around and pursued it. This time it stayed put. Compared to the commonly found white-breasted Kingfisher, the stork-billed Kingfisher is huge. As we observed it, there were gasps of wonder from the youngsters. We also spied the lesser Pied Kingfisher, unique because it is capable of hovering in the air and diving for its food ,unlike most other kingfishers.

But still no crocodile. Spotting crocodiles is an art. It has got nothing to do with possessing good eyesight or expensive binoculars, though both help. It has everything to do with whether you love crocodiles. (For further details watch out for my bestseller 'Zen and the art of crocodile spotting')

We would have missed the crocodile if he had not said 'hi' as we went by -- so we stopped, put the outboard motor into neutral and reversed back to the spot. The children had already been told that crocodiles are very shy and do not like to be disturbed. No classroom ever witnessed such a silence as on that day. Quietly, they studied the still and motionless shape on the bank. And quietly it watched us cast admiring glances at its two-metre long reptilian figure, jagged deadly tail and unsmiling jaw. We would have stayed there longer were it not for another boat behind us.

Further upstream we saw another Mugger or Marsh Crocodile, and further still at the water's edge we saw our biggest crocodile for the day, a 3-metre mugger. However, except for the head and snout, the rest of the torso lay submerged. The Mugger can stay in this position with its mouth open under water indefinitely and still breathe. The nostrils on the snout have a long nasal passage which lead to the choanac which opens far back on the palate and can be closed by a flap of skin. Besides, crocodiles can stay underwater for more than an hour. The biggest Muggers we've encountered were about three-and-a-half metres, but they can grow upto four metres!

On our way back we planted much needed mangrove saplings - a task which was undertaken with great enthusiasm. The youngsters grabbed as many saplings as they could and battered their way through the muck! We also held a simple nature quiz, where I must admit, the children fared miserably. This is an alarming indication of the poor interest in wildlife being inculcated into our children today.

However, this is no place for pessimism. Later during the camp, the Mustard Seeds lent their creativity to delightful poems, songs and plays on wildlife.

And for us, it was enough knowing we had introduced another band of youngsters to the call of the wild!