The Palani Laughing Thrush is one of the many inhabitants of the Palani Hills in the Western Ghats. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
My journey in photographing the bird species of Palani Hills began when I got a job in a private school in Kodaikanal. During my early days in Kodai, I was attracted by landscapes and focused on landscape photography. Clouds snoozing on the hills, Reluctant mist among the pines, Wet moss on the shola trees, Moon entangled in the reeds, Sun dripping from above salviaAnd the calm and shimmering lake are the images that fascinated me and the bird was just a curiosity.
In my third year there, I developed an interest in birds. I started going on birdwatching trips in and around Kodaikanal city. I think this interest was a natural extension of my ever-present curiosity about the natural world. Also, as a high school biology teacher I thought this activity would help spark some interest in the diversity and behavior of birds among my students.
There are many advantages to bird keeping as a hobby. You are out of your lair in the natural world, you become more aware of your surroundings, you become more attentive, you become physically active, your neck gets an exercise in peering into the canopy is, and your reflexes recover, especially when you notice fleeting movement among the bushes. If you are carrying a two kg camera and a zoom lens, your shoulder and arm muscles get exercised and above all, you feel calm and happy when you hunt birds in the woods.
I opened a Facebook page “Birds of Palani Hills” for some structure and direction for my search. The Palani Hills are in the southeastern part of the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. It is a global biodiversity hotspot and is well recognized for its high endemism. The habitat is diverse and includes densely forested areas, grasslands, plantations, lakes and winding streams.
Bird hunting in such terrain can be both exhilarating and taxing. Over two years, I was able to photograph 150 species, including endemics: black-and-orange flycatcher, white-bellied sholakili, Nilgiri flycatcher, Palani laughing thrush, Nilgiri pipit… but the broad-tailed grassbird still eludes me .
The hardest part of this journey is that it is a one-person quest (54 years old and borderline diabetic); Even though my wife sometimes accompanies me, it has been a solo endeavor for the most part.
Some days I bird hunt for up to eight hours, especially on cloudy days when birds are active longer than their usual morning and evening walks. Birds like raptors don’t care much for the sun and live longer than other species.
Some days, I come home dejected and tired – I haven’t seen a single species that I haven’t photographed before. How many times have I cursed nightingales, they are everywhere, and then I think how selfish it is possible to be in the search. Overall, this trip has brought me joy, taught me patience, and given me the confidence to encourage my students to complete projects on bird diversity.
Now I walk around Palani Hills looking for birds at different altitudes. American author Jonathan Franzen, in a Guardian article titled radical otherness of birds, writes “The stories we tell about the past and imagine for the future are mental constructs that birds can do without. Birds live completely in the present. And currently, although our cats and our windows and our pesticides kill billions every year, and although some species have been lost forever, their world is still very much alive. In every corner of the globe, in nests as small as a walnut or as large as a haystack, chicks are pecking from their shells and into the light.” Given the importance of birds to any ecosystem, I feel that my quest has a purpose, and I wish that these feathered creatures survive, overcome the obstacles put in front of them by humans, and become a part of someone’s FB. Don’t just be a memory on the page.
premt@kis.in