Social Flycatcher Refound!

November 19th 

I got up at 3 am, in order to get to the El Paso airport by 3:30 for my 5 am flight. I  flew El Paso to Dallas, Dallas to McAllen. Since I'd left McAllen on Wednesday night, I'd eaten lunch on Thursday and dinner on Thursday. I'd skipped breakfast, and I'd be skipping lunch in order to prioritize time getting to the Social Flycatcher. 

By the time I got to Dallas, there had been positive reports of the Social Flycatcher being seen again today. Whew! My friends Dave and Shawneen were in town, and they were headed to see the bird as well. They saw it just as I was landing in McAllen, and offered to stay with the bird until I arrived. I had a one hour drive. 

I arrived, parked, and extracted my three tripod pieces and scope from my carry-on luggage. No time to assemble, I'd just carry them across the campus like that and assemble it when I got to the bird. One of my biggest chase fears is hearing "it was here five minutes ago"...

I met up with Dave and Shawneen. "It was here ten minutes ago..." 

Gah. I'm so tired. Starving. I just want my bed and my dog and to eat three square meals and to get back to my gym routine. I was definitely feeling the effects of my 3 am alarm. We waited. Listened. Walked around the small wetland. Waited some more. Finally, after half an hour, I heard it, distinctively, like a squeaky toy, calling from the other side of the wetland. Whew. Dave heard it too, and Raul. Check. I was relieved to not have missed it, and to be able to count it. Now to wait around to get a visual. Ten minutes felt like an hour, and after more than an actual hour, it was back at its original perch, feeding on Chinese tallow berries. In that time, I'd wanted to leave, thought maybe I'd come back tomorrow instead to get a look. The fatigue of this year has really been setting in, and removing some of the joy of birding, or, perhaps more accurately, of chasing, for me. Ever since I've realized the all-time Lower 48 record is within my reach, what would usually be the excitement of a successful chase has turned into simply relief when the target bird has been seen or heard. 

I watched with a group of a dozen or so birders as the bird showed well, continued to feed, and called several times at close range. 

After about fifteen minutes, I made the drive home, simultaneously exhausted and incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to spend this year traveling, birding, and healing my trauma. More on that in a future blog post soon. 

Year List: 708