Cinnamon Queen .

 

  Advent of social media,postings by fellow birders in Indian birdwatchers,bng birds  FB group made me hungry for sighting of the famed indian  paradise bird after proxy birding over the internet made me go Ga-ga for one to one sighting.

Mid January 2022,enthused by the mission of ebird resolution went to dwelve deep into study of birds. Got connected to senior birders over whatsapp to clear my hunch of over identification of birds. Sometimes I have made mistakes in making Identification, should happen when learning. At times I have been into self made elation trip by thinking I have sighted the rare one in my vicinity.

Yes Birdwatching needs patience, and more u get into it,you cannot fathom the vastness of species, sub species jargon of avian world in jiffy. It requires your commitment also to know more,see more and hear more and process them in your grey matter.

Consiously I made time for birdwatching, reason for it being it was exciting hobby to develop , also with it there came immense peace and mindfulness when I went to give attention to fellow birds amidst lung space of cities. It also brought a sense of calmness,when I used to focus intensively on new calls and songs , scan through my memory to match it with species I know amidst the green thickets of lake and park.At times I wound keep calls  in my memory for few months familiarised only to zero upon the bird after I  see bird in close quarter.  On 20.1.22 beaming high with new prostaff binocs I entered the ligambudhi lake, to catch glimpse of birds which I haven’t seen till now. Once u see a bird its not over , your mind doesn’t get satiated there.

U tend to read on it , know more on habitat, any significant species related or Habitat information. Preferably if you are a newbie like me, better to keep tab on maximum 4 to 5 species a day  only ,as
there will be lot to observe and utilise all your senses. Strolling over the park n getting familiarised with the route map, i started going towards the trees  without any bird in my head after listening to them.

Heard a harsh “Shrew”,amazed may  be I am near flycatcher,looked up to see a bulbul sort of image in shadows of bamboo quickly disappearing.Walked few steps to stand still there it was the beautiful cinnamon colored morph IPF hoping  from braches to braches. No gift would have been greater than this, the ethereal beauty stood still  perched enough for me to click some pictures to and mark my red letter day of 2022 in my birding dairy. And went into bamboo habitat, a monoculture favourite by forest department.

To get soaked in the vision  of the bird, to hug them with your attention is an exalting experience, to be humble to know their needs,threats and understand their life makes a human life  more sensible and worthwhile.

And the mind seeks for more, when will be the sighting of the  ribonned tailed white morph of #indianaradiseflycatcher.