New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, November 13, 2015:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 13, 2015
* NYNY1511.13

- Birds mentioned

FRANKLIN'S GULL+
CAVE SWALLOW+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Golden Eagle
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Black Skimmer
Great Horned Owl
SNOWY OWL
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
WESTERN KINGBIRD
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Eastern Bluebird
American Pipit
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

- Transcript

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, November 13th 2015 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are FRANKLIN'S GULL, CAVE SWALLOW, WESTERN KINGBIRD, NORTHERN SHRIKE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, SNOWY OWL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, LARK SPARROW and DICKCISSEL.

Presumably unprecedented, at least in New York, has been the incursion today of numerous FRANKLIN'S GULLS into the northeast visiting states from Massachusetts to Maryland. Both adult and first winter birds are involved but they probably won't stay around long so don't wait to look for them. Birds today were seen in the Hudson River off Riverside Park and Battery Park but most have been along the coast. Brooklyn provided one or more at Plumb Beach, Coney Island Creek and Floyd Bennett Field with others at Riis Park in Queens and on Staten Island. Malibu Beach west of Point Lookout added one and further east other Franklins visited Robert Moses State Park and Captree State Park as well as Venetian Shores in Lindenhurst and Sayville. Certainly many others were also in the area.

Two of this week's top rarities were found on Long Island found just minutes apart last Sunday at the same north shore location at McAllister County Park in the village of Belle Terre. First a WESTERN KINGBIRD appeared just long enough for a few flight shots to be taken and the subsequent search to relocate the Kingbird produced an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE. Though the Kingbird was not refound the Shrike continued for most of the day near the tip of this sandy peninsula which forms the eastern side of the entrance into Port Jefferson Harbor. We have no subsequent information on the Shrike's presence there. The small parking lot for this relatively newly accessible park is at the end of Anchorage Road. To reach the tip where the Shrike was requires a fairly long walk around the cove just north of the lot and then west towards the harbor mouth.

Another WESTERN KINGBIRD was reported today at Sunken Meadow State Park near the old footbridge.

As waterfowl continue to arrive a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted Sunday on Hook Pond in East Hampton a traditionally productive site for this species. Single CACKLING GEESE were noted at Sunken Meadow State Park on Tuesday and along Reeves Avenue north of Riverhead Wednesday. The drake EURASIAN WIGEON was still being reported on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last weekend.

Ten LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were still present Saturday along Santapogue Creek in Lindenhurst joined by a single late SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER as well as 22 lingering immature BLACK SKIMMERS.

A LARK SPARROW was seen Saturday around the golf course just west of parking lot 2 at Robert Moses State Park.

In Central Park a DICKCISSEL continued in the north end through last weekend and unusual for the park was a GREAT HORNED OWL in the Ramble from Sunday to today. An immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has remained in Central around the Ramble area to today and another was still being seen in Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn as of Monday.

Last Sunday many birders got to witness a strong migratory push along the south shore of Long Island. The flight consisted of mostly RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and COMMON GRACKLES. A sustained count conducted at Fort Tilden Sunday morning recording approximate totals of 42,000 Red-wingeds and 16,000 Grackles. Among the other species involved in the flight were modest numbers of EASTERN BLUEBIRD, AMERICAN PIPIT, PURPLE FINCH, PINE SISKIN and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. The flight was also rewarding inland in a different capacity as the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Butler Sanctuary in Bedford recorded 3 GOLDEN EAGLES and 5 Goldens passed by the Quaker Ridge Hawkwatch at the Audubon Center in northwestern Greenwich.

A couple of things to watch for are SNOWY OWLS reported along the south shore of Long Island sometime last week and CAVE SWALLOWS are now appearing along the Great Lakes as well as in good numbers at Cape May and just in 5 were reported today at Miller Field on Staten Island.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or weekdays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript