Jinxed Birding

Let me start by apologizing to Sean. Sorry, Sean, for the bad juju I brought when we went a-searching for the violet one and the black one.

Have you ever went out birdwatching, ended up with a verrrrry short birdlist, and felt that it was your fault? Well, that was exactly how I felt yesterday. 

After seeing Sean’s photos of some birds in La Mesa Ecopark, I finally got the urge to bring out my binoculars, recharge my camera’s battery, and rummage through my closet for my birding pants (they fit!) As I was preparing, I discovered my 5-year old birding shoes have given up on me and decided to disintegrate while I was on a birding hiatus. So I decided to use my pair of Chucks -- not such a good idea. Note to self: buy new birding shoes.

All dressed and geared up, I was soon on the road to LMEP. I joined Sean hoping to spot the violet one that was seen and photographed there recently. I felt so positive that we would see it! The sun was up but it wasn’t too hot and the yellow-vented ones were actively feeding all around us. 

Well, it began and ended there.

When the violet one didn’t show up, we entered the park and decided to stake out the black one that was also recently seen and photographed there. I felt so positive that we would see it! It was a Monday, the park wasn’t filled with people, and the noise levels and activity around the lagoon was very minimal. A pair of the common ones made very brief appearances while we waited. 

Even the Common Kingfisher stayed away!

A brown bully made the far side of the lagoon its hunting ground while a white-breasted one foraged on the far banks side by side a chicken. 

Brown Shrike

White-breasted Waterhen

Well, it began and ended there.

That was when the thought crept up on me: I'm jinxed! I'm driving all the birds away! I looked apologetically at Sean and voiced out my feelings. He said he was thinking the same thing. But I told him he usually got good photos, never a zero, and even if there were "bad days" it was never "this bad." THAT he had to agree with. We further analyzed the situation and we sort of figured out the possible source of all the bad juju. I have to test out that theory though...

We went to the mini-forest and... you guessed it: no birds! 

So, no violet, no black, no kings of fishers, and to top it all off, we got rained out. Jinxed.

The skies cleared up after that and we tried again for the violet one. After a few minutes, we decided to accept our defeat and pack up.

I really, really hope I'm not jinxed (or cursed!!!) and I do hope my birding adventures return to becoming really exciting ones again. Let's see...