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Mangrove Cuckoo chase (4hr 1-way) vs. MacGillivray's Warbler Chase (2hr 1-way)


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Just looking for some quick input to help me decide which of these two birds anyone thinks I should chase tomorrow morning.  The Mangrove means I get up at 3:40am, the MacGillivray's Warbler means I get up at 5:40am.  Ready and willing for any random hot take opinions here and thanks!

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On 5/10/2023 at 10:10 PM, Caley Thomas 2.0 said:

Just looking for some quick input to help me decide which of these two birds anyone thinks I should chase tomorrow morning.  The Mangrove means I get up at 3:40am, the MacGillivray's Warbler means I get up at 5:40am.  Ready and willing for any random hot take opinions here and thanks!

What did you end up doing, and did you see it?

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2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Why I don't chase. 

On the bright side, and with my rose-tinted glasses back on, at least I added about 20 to my year list and met a lot of cool birders.  That, and sweated out about 10 pounds probably, lol (free sauna, woohoo!)

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6 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Why I don't chase. 

This afternoon I chased the breeding pair of Mississippi Kites (maybe the only pair in Maryland, certainly the only publicly known pair in my part of the state) a half-hour from home and not only saw them, I saw TWO Swallow-tailed Kites flying with them!

On Monday I went to look for the Glossy Ibis in a neighboring county about 35-40 minutes from home. I eventually saw it, and on my way back to my car found two Anhingas perched in a tree.

Chasing can be fun.

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17 minutes ago, Peromyscus said:

 

Chasing can be fun.

It's a gamble and a game, which is appealing to many people. Probably part of the reason why people chase birds all the time.

(despite the fact that they are rare or new.)

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So, what may be the same bird (or not) showed up in Galveston, TX yesterday late afternoon, and after it was re-found this morning by others, I decided to drive 3.5 hrs in the opposite direction than I did on Thursday to try for it.  Luckily, and despite semi-flooding conditions, I was able to see it after 3 hours of searching.  A few pics for the story.

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DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.12.667.jpg

DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.13.667.jpg

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2 hours ago, Caley Thomas 2.0 said:

So, what may be the same bird (or not) showed up in Galveston, TX yesterday late afternoon, and after it was re-found this morning by others, I decided to drive 3.5 hrs in the opposite direction than I did on Thursday to try for it.  Luckily, and despite semi-flooding conditions, I was able to see it after 3 hours of searching.  A few pics for the story.

DSCN1642.JPG

DSCN1667.MP4_snapshot_00.08.334.jpg

DSCN1667.MP4_snapshot_00.20.733.jpg

DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.12.667.jpg

DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.13.667.jpg

awesome. Congrats!!!

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7 hours ago, Caley Thomas 2.0 said:

I decided to drive 3.5 hrs in the opposite direction than I did on Thursday to try for it. 

So in other words ... it was probably directly over your house while you were off looking the first time 🤔

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9 hours ago, Caley Thomas 2.0 said:

So, what may be the same bird (or not) showed up in Galveston, TX yesterday late afternoon, and after it was re-found this morning by others, I decided to drive 3.5 hrs in the opposite direction than I did on Thursday to try for it.  Luckily, and despite semi-flooding conditions, I was able to see it after 3 hours of searching.  A few pics for the story.

DSCN1642.JPG

DSCN1667.MP4_snapshot_00.08.334.jpg

DSCN1667.MP4_snapshot_00.20.733.jpg

DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.12.667.jpg

DSCN1671.MP4_snapshot_00.13.667.jpg

Bravo, @Caley Thomas 2.0!  I've tried for that darn bird several times in its home stomping grounds and not been successful.  

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  • 4 months later...
On 5/12/2023 at 11:23 AM, Caley Thomas 2.0 said:

I went for the Mangrove, got up at 3:30am, drove four hours, birded 12 hours, didn't see it (nor did anyone else), then drove back home 4 hours and got back at about 11pm.  It was fun, but a bit disappointing for sure.

Welcome to the world of birding. I have had similar experiences multiple times but then I have also had times when I didn't even get out the car before spotting the bird I was chasing. Unlike many birders though I enjoy the adventure whether I find my target bird or not. The target bird gives me a reason to leave my comfort zone, get out there and explore. I'm never disappointed because there is always something to see. Birds, mammals, bugs, plants, fish all bring me joy.

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