Weary soles and wretched souls,
ending one of our worst strolls,
a trail promising sighting goals,
no birds and empty crab holes.
Then at the dirt trail’s fag end,
in the shrubs around the bend,
fluttering wings heard in descend,
flickering hopes began to ascend.


A furred figure buff and blurred,
turned a clumsy juvenile bird,
busy with preening undeterred,
despite our presence unstirred.
In a trice the bough came alive,
there wasn’t one but all of five,
jostling pecking doing the jive,
nibbling stalks none to deprive.


Saw then why they were carefree,
a watchful parent high in a tree,
often being pestered with a plea,
I’m done preening now feed me.
All this drama within a few feet,
fatigue had since taken a backseat,
hearts filled with joy at such a treat,
in a flash our trek was complete!
A small portion of this poetry has been captured on video and is posted on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZD-wwgBVHg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

[Framed: A brood of juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata) preening themselves under the watchful eyes of their parents, and later begging for food.
Location: Dahisar Mangroves Forest, Mumbai]
– Narendra Nayak © 2022
There’s nothing better than a surprise,and nature’s filled with them! Lovely photos, and quite a treat to see the group all together.
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Thank you for your kind words, Ma’am! It was indeed a pleasant surprise; and more so for my son who till that instance had not seen such a beautiful parenting interaction among birds in the wild. 🙂
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Beautiful images and words.
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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Glad you were rewarded with a beautiful sight at the end of your trail N. Your words are a perfect narrative, unfolding the entire drama.💙
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Thank you so much, R! I was delighted with this sighting; more so for my son who was seeing such drama unfold in the wild for the first time. 🙂
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Lovely photos and observation.
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Thank you so much, Rupali! 🙂
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so beautiful, Thank you, Love, nia
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Thank you so much, Nia! 🙂
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What a treasure and blessings to witness and how you capture them all in your incredible photographs – brining the world alive to us. Your poetry is beautiful and perfect to read along.
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Thank you so much, Pragalbha, for your wonderful words of appreciation! 🙏🏻 🙂
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You are very welcome.
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Beautiful family!
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Thank you, Ma’am! 🙂
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Aww these are great photos. On the first picture it looks like the four of them are shouting at the one in the middle. I wonder what’s he done lol (if it is a he).
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Thank you so much! The one in the middle is a parent (can’t say whether mom or dad) and the juveniles are pestering it for food! In the latter pictures it can be seeing feeding them. 🙂
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I love your poem and photos, Narendra, and can completely relate to your emotions. There is nothing like a group of garrulous, beautiful, accommodating birds that allow us a glimpse into their lives to lift one’s spirit. Thanks to your experience, my spirit is lifted vicariously.
I thank you. 🙏
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Those are such wonderful words you have used to express your reflections, Tanja; couldn’t have put it better! Thank you for your warm appreciation and these treasured thoughts. 🙂 🙏🏻
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Thank you, Narendra. I love visiting your blog. 😊
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Lovely photos. So glad you could capture the munias – I can almost hear them! Wonderful share.
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Thank you so much, Jaya; I’m truly delighted that you loved it! 🙏🏻🙂
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Good sighting. Must have been quite a thing for your son. Love the photos. Where?
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Thank you, Sir! Oh, yes – the finer details still come up in his conversations. 😄
This is in a segment of the Dahisar Mangroves Forest – a mud track leading to the Manori Creek off Link Road next to Dahisar DMart. 🙂
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Beautiful shots ☺️
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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My pleasure 💫
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What a fantastic collection of photos this is and your description complements them perfectly. So much prettier here than on Instagram (laptop vs. phone). You’re really lucky to have such sightings and not just one but a full gang!
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Thanks a lot, Neelanjana; I’m pleased that you liked it. This episode delighted me all the more since my son was watching such a spectacle in the wild for the first time. And I can see the impact it made because he still reminisces about this lucky encounter almost a month to date. 🙂
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You have captured them so well that we can almost hear their noisy sweet never ending chirping!!
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Thank you very much, Deeksha, for your lovely words of appreciation! 🙏🏻 🙂
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Wow… Great shots!!
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Thank you so much, Jyothi! 🙂
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Reblogged this on Mitch Teemley and commented:
My Featured Blogger this week is Narendra Nayak of A Sliver of Life. This poet-photographer’s (poetographer?) posts never fail to delight. While America is focusing on groundhogs (one of our sillier traditions), Narendra is focusing on more predictable and amiable creature called Munias. Munias are a type of finch native to Mumbai where Narendra lives and works his magic.
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Thank you so much, Sir, for this honour. Much indebted! 🙏🏻 🙂
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As always, the honor is mine, my friend.
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Delightful words and photography. I am wading into the waters of photographing birds as well and I love that you’ve combined your passion for pictures and poems!
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Thank you so much, Collette, for your kind words of appreciation. I look forward to seeing your work too! 🙂
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Super awesome bird photos!! Cute words to go along 😊
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Thank you so much, Lisa!
You have amazing photographs on your blog too! Look foward to seeing more of them. 🙂
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Thank you!! I just love photography. And I like to get ideas from others 😊
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Wow.. beautiful photography! Loved it!!
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Thanks a lot, Jyothi! 🙂
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Precious moments 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks a lot, Lakshmi Ma’am, for reading and for your kind appreciation. 🙂
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Munia is enjoying her mother’s attention 🙂
The second picture aptly capture your words
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Thank you so much, Swati! 🙂
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