Last month during the Heritage Walk organised by SPROUTS to Vasai fort, we took a group to a tall spire of one of the partially-restored churches. From this vantage point, soldiers used to keep an eye on any passing or approaching ship and sound an alarm if necessary. The swamps around the fort were covered by mangrove trees. Zigzagging streams led to the main creek. There was a lot of bird activity in the swamps and any walking Pond Heron and Reef Egret would result in some distinct movement.

We got curious to find out whether it was a snake or an eel. One of the kids borrowed my binoculars, and exclaimed, "Walking fish!" Although I had seen them with my naked eyes and knew exactly what they were, I checked again with the binoculars. This served two purposes, first was to maintain the scientific discipline of never concluding without checking. Through experience, we have realised that even stark amateurs can end up discovering rare creatures. The second purpose was to humour the kids and keep their sense of discovery alive. I pretended to study the curious creatures and remarked that these indeed were walking fish and that in fact, they could even climb trees. My intern Jayesh Vishwakarma informed them that they were fish popularly known as mudskippers.