Tunnel Vision Sucks

My last several birding outings have been with a single objective: to spot a photograph a Belted Kingfisher. So when I leave without having spotted nor photographed one, I feel as if the entire outing was a failure. I seem to have forgotten that:

1. Nature doesn't care what bird I want to see
2. I can still enjoy all the other birds I encounter

I realized that today when I got in the car. I was disappointed I didn't see one, was kicking myself for getting up early all for nothing, and forgot all of the awesome things I did see today. I didn't stick around my usual spot for too long. It's rained a ton recently, and the forest is full of mosquitos so I went somewhere else. But for the 15-ish miniutes I was there, I spotted 3 Puerto Rican Woodpeckers, which I hadn't been able to spot one for over a month (although I always heard them), a Northern Mockingbird chilling on a tree branch, and eight (eight!!) Monk Parakeets building a nest.

I know I didn't miss these things, I'm telling you about them, but in the moment, I know the only thing I was thinking of was let me hurry up and go to the spot I last heard a Kingfisher, instead of appreciating the moment.

So what I need to do is get some mosquito repellant, and get back out there tomorrow. Nature is ready to surprise us, we just need to let ourselves be surprised.

The bigger thing I want to reflect on is how tunnel vision can narrow our focus and we allow ourselves to miss out on amazing things because we're so focused chasing something that we may never get, and how chasing that thing can make us stop enjoying our hobbies.