White Browed Wagtail - A closer shot and discourse :-)

02 March 2021,

Everyone has a desire to break free from corporate job and pursue something they really like. I too want such a life, where I can earn decent money for monthly expenses from investments and follow my interest of exploring rainforest. Hardly 1-2% achieve their dream mainly because the expectations never reduce. Expectations are biggest hurdle in our life which positively makes you to work hard and at the same negatively leads you to dissatisfied life. When you conclude your professional journey, the body does not permit you to do the desired activity which you yearned when you were 20 years younger.

The morning sunrise was pleasant

I was in a similar mood today when work piled up vexing the mind. I just paused from work, took the bicycle and rode straight towards usual cycling path. When the bridge arrived, a melodious voice of bird captivated me. Initially I thought to be magpie robin but wait a minute, that sounds different. When I parked bicycle nearby and looked back, wow! it was wagtail :-). That was too close. I shot many pictures of the bird to quench my photography thirst. That came out good too! On my last occasion it was disappointment since I couldn't capture bird at right direction. This time, the position and light were perfect. The evening smooth light made sure that camera had enough shutter speed to have picture well detailed. The bird was energetically calling its partner (may be) to which it did not get response for longer time. Later the partner too responded. Till then I could easily grab good shots staying relatively close to the wagtail. This wagtail was perched over the solar street-light melodiously calling. Either it did not notice me since it was busy calling or these birds are relatively human friendly. Finally I was contended with shots and my energy was back, the mood switched ON.

Soon I would be moving back to Bangalore where I don't have luxury to relax in nature everyday. The frustration in city is impossible to sink unless you are nearby lake where you meet birds. But that still does not match with village aura. Not sure, when I will back, but the adieu is disheartening. Hopefully, I will get a chance to enjoy monsoon season for a month.

Nevertheless, I had beautiful sunset to enjoy :-)

End of day, you need to understand limitations and move on. Love your job for your sake. If you can't achieve what you want even with full effort, that may be your limitation. But do not stall efforts. Better to move on. Everyone has unique life. Just lower expectations and your life becomes easy. Every birding ride I take, I feel like owning a great lens and camera to shoot those avian creatures. That is my limitation, there are other commitments. I am just enjoying with my decade old camera and lens. At times when luck clicks like today, just make use of it!

Check out my Bird Series blogs here : NKBirdSeries