The bird watcher

“Planning was never a part of my characteristic trait. I have always let things take their own course. When I was younger, I had vaguely thought I would become a doctor but I didn’t prepare very well for the entrance examination and thus couldn’t clear the cutoff. I don’t regret it though. In hindsight, I think I was fortunate that way.

Since I have always been fond of animals, the next best option for me was to take up Bachelor’s in Zoology. I grew up watching Animal Planet and National Geographic shows, and always hoped that I would someday be on the field like those people I saw on TV. I had no idea back then what kind of job would land me there, but the thought was quite appealing to me. The more I studied about animals, the more fascinating it became to me.

I came to know about Master’s in Wildlife Studies while being in college and I thought it would be a perfect fit to my interest and love for animals and the natural world. So without much of a debate, I went for it. I initially wanted to work on tigers, one of my favourite animals. However, during my Master’s coursework, there were often times when I used to venture into the nearby forests and lands with my friends and observe birds.

Bird watching started off as a hobby for me, but I started growing more profound interest in them when I came across their mixed flocking behavior which they exhibit mainly…