an arduous climb with the telephoto, macro, wide angle lenses and few litres of water but was motivated by the
chance of spotting the Palni Sailer. En route, a lot of Palni Laughing Thrushes were catching butterflies easily but it
was a difficult environment to photograph without flash light. Our guide advised against the use of flash due to the
presence of Gaurs and Elephants. On reaching the road at the crest of the mountain, the others took a break, while
the activity had just begun for me. A large butterfly that looked like a Southern Duffer was flying a far. I noticed
that the forests towards the Kodaikanal side were already bathed in plenty of sunshine while towards Top Station,
the sun light was blocked by the peaks and was still cold and dark.
Decided to walk a few hundred meters towards Kodaikanal after being warned of elephants and straight away saw
a Sailer basking in the canopy of a shola tree which was at eye level for me. Decided to take a few record shots
using telephoto lens and then approached the target. By the time I had switched to macro lens and worked on the
settings, the butterfly flew away. I was pretty sure I had photographed the Palni Sailer but couldn't verify it since
the nearest spot with 4G/3G network was at least 6 Kms away.
Saw numerous Nilgiri Blue Tigers that were basking and flying around. We
decided to proceed and within a few hundred metres noticed signs of a
male elephant. Treading cautiously, saw a Nilgiri Four Ring, Indian Cabbage
White and a White Hedge Blue. I was pleasantly surprised by the
abundance of Red Disc Bushbrowns and felt the habitat was thriving. As
we started the descent, it was abundantly clear that the male elephant
was near by and had to take extreme precautions. A lot of time was spent
on figuring out the safe way ahead and couldn't focus on butterflies.
Eventually another group that was coming up from Top Station side were
able to sight the elephant and hence we could relax a little. Saw a couple
of White Disc Hedge Blues closer to the KFD check post at the end of the trek.
Once we finished the trek and proceeded towards the Top Station eateries,
saw another endemic – the Palni Fritillary! By now, it was dark and started
drizzling. Took a lift from a KFD vehicle and reached the safety of the
amenity centre when it started raining heavily for a couple of hours. It was
cloudy for the rest of the day and all that we could spot were Dingy Scrub
Hoppers, Nilgiri Clouded Yellows and Red Admirals.
As the evening passed by, a tiger started to roar. It is always wonderful to
hear a tiger roar in a hilly forest – the roar echoes and leave us in awe of the majestic nature of the beast. By now
the tusker had reached the valley below and the KFD watchers identified it as a conflict veteran and set a small fire
to the grass surrounding their buildings to keep distance. The annoyed tusker started trumpeting in anger and was
chasing every vehicle in sight well in to the night. We were warned through radio not to venture beyond the
elephant trench till they give the go ahead in the morning.
We had visits from Porcupines, the very elusive Brown Mongoose, stripe necked Mongoose and another elusive
species – Jerdon's Palm Civet. Unfortunately we couldn't photograph any of them as any flash of light would involve
a rebuke from the KFD watchers monitoring the elephant.
The next day the sun was up and while checking out, noticed a very small butterfly that kept on buzzing ahead of us
in the path. It slowed for a short while and it turned out to be a White Disc Hedge Blue! As we drove towards
Bodimettu, was a little disappointed that I couldn't get the Palni Bushbrown but was extremely happy when I
realized that the sailer indeed turned out to be Palni Sailer.
Near the sholas of Bison Valley, I saw a butterfly that appeared to be a Malabar Flash at the edge of a deep ravine
where road work was going on. Tried for close to an hour but eventually gave up as the movement of the vehicles
seemed to affect the butterfly a lot and would frequently disappear only to reappear and tease me later. I could
spot Fulvettas, Scimitar Babblers, Square Tailed Bulbuls, Northern Goshawk and heard calls of Grey headed Bulbuls
too. Due to road work, there was no possibility of photography near the cardamom plantations of Poopara and
eventually entered TN with a heavy heart. The Sunday evening speeding vehicles meant we abandoned any
thoughts of photography and decided to proceed towards our homes.
Overall it turned out to be a very satisfying trip!
PATTAMPOOCHI
A TNBS MAGAZINE
WINGS 3 VEINS 3
6