Friends, Paytalee is a place near Khandepar, Goa.

It is a paradise for bird watching.

We go there often.

This is a report of a trip which we had on 15th of this month.

Sorry for the delay.

Comments are welcome.

Date : 15/06/2008

I reached the stop at 7:15 as decided. Mandar, me and Utkarsh started our journey to Paytalee.

As we reached, we were welcomed by red vented Bulbuls.Today, it was not just a casual visit as usual.

Today we had a special purpose.

Mr. Parag Rangnekar, who studies the insects and works for their conservation was to come there at Paytalee to see the place.

Paytalee being a paradise which lets you experience nature's beauty and the biodiversity, he was impressed by the discription and the number of bird species found there.

Kaustubh and Omkar were to accompany him as he didn’t know the road.

As we climbed , Parag sir's car passed us. It started raining shortly and we reached at a point where they were standing with umbrellas.

As we moved, we could hear the calls of birds and the sound of gushing water.

After a short while, we reached the lake, the heart of Paytalee.

The lake was dry as the small dams were opened and the water was flowing freely.

We saw numerous amount of butterfly species over there like Rustic, Tailed jay, Soldier(Chocolate Pansy),common castor, Mormon, plains Cupid etc.

Chocolate Pansy

Tailed Jay

Parag sir made us familiar with the dragon flies and Damsel flies. He showed us a dragonfly named as Paddy Field Skimmer.

We saw both male and female.

Paddy Field Skimmer

While moving forward, we saw a beautiful insect known as Tortoise.

It was yellow coloured and had black spots and transparent ring from the side.

Then we moved towards the rocks which follow the lake.

There was a waterfall formed there due to flowing rain water.

There we saw different kinds of dragonflies and damsel flies.

We saw the Damsel fly called Malabar Torrent Dart which is endemic to the Western Ghats.

Malabar Torrent Dart

We were even lucky to see their process of laying eggs and even mating.

Green Marsh Hawk Mating

We spent a lot of time exploring that area.

Men at Work

Then me and Mandar went up the rocks to discover several species of mushrooms and the outer case of a spider.

A Fern

A Fungal Growth on a decaying Tree

While I was up there, he saw a small red crab which I couldn't see but I was fortunate to see a bigger crab after a short while which he could not see.

Its lot more fun watching these crabs play in wild than watching them in fisherwomen's buckets.

We went a bit higher where we found two insects of the same kind.

They looked wonderful.

Unidentified Insect

Then we came down .

There we ate the sprouting cashew seed.

They were tasty and ate those for the first time.

They all went towards the swamps with Parag sir.

But I headed straight forward where I observed dense vegetation and big rocks (habitat suitable for a leopard.) But comparatively nearer to human settlements.

So no chances of a leopard being there.

But can't say in today's condition. We all know about the Bicholim incidents.

I came back and joined them.

We made our way through the water and joined the path from which we had come.

While coming, we saw a common Iora in breeding plumage on a tree located on the other side of the lake.

On the way, Parag sir plucked some fruits known as "Karmalaan" in konkani.

He gave each of us the pieces.

When we again came back to the lake, we saw a magnificent butterfly known as 'Silver line'.

Its specialty is that it appears as if they are two and mating.

But actually it is a single one.

This makes their predator to attack from back and they get a chance to run away. (Its their defence mechanism.)

Nothing much amazing had happened till then.

At least not till the person who had come with Parag sir saw something and called him.

When I looked in the direction thinking that it would be a fly, to my astonishment, it was a trinket snake.

I was excited.

For that fraction of the second, I experienced the energy which I had not felt till then on that trip.

I jumped over the wall as it passed over the fence.

I sprinted and followed it heroically.

But to my disappointment, it went into the roots of a tree.

The roots were dense and hard.

Without loosing hope, I tried my best to get it out.

But it was neither visible nor did it come out.

It was not possible to get it out without damaging the roots.

After searching for sometime, we decided to leave.

It was a great day.

I was happy because of the whole impact but a bit disappointed because of the trinket incident.

Introduction

Born at the foot of the mountain called 'Mardangad', which is rich in its flora and fauna, In village called Dhavli near Ponda (Goa), I am attracted towards the forest from my childhood.

The walks through the forest, which initially meant just as an adventure to me, started inculcating curiosity about the forest.

As I learnt the importance of the forests and the different life forms it nourished within it, The curiosity and affection towards nature grew.

But the actual step towards making an attempt to actually study those creatures was taken when I joined our college nature club.

It is then when I met Mr. Ajay Dongre,who is a teacher in the institute I learnt.

My mindset and the outlook towards the things like environment, wild life, conservation. changed when I met Ajay sir and my friend Saish Khandeparkar.

I started my journey with bird watching.

We started going for treks in groups.

This is just the start.

I intend to learn about the wild mammals, especially the big cats and work for their conservation.

I'll be writing the reports of treks which we carry out.

I will also try to bring to your notice some important things from this field.

Keep visiting and give your feedbacks.