New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, November 25, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 25, 2010
* NYNY1011.25

- Birds mentioned

COMMON GROUND-DOVE+ (not seen since Sun., 21-Nov)
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
CAVE SWALLOW+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Snow Goose
Cackling Goose
KING EIDER
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
Northern Goshawk
Hudsonian Godwit
LITTLE GULL
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Bonaparte's Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Razorbill
WESTERN KINGBIRD
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Orange-crowned Warbler
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Red Crossbill
Common Redpoll

EXTRALIMITAL - Stamford, Connecticut:
FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER

- 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 nysarc3 AT nybirds.org.

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

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY 14428

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 Thursday, November 25th 2010 at 10pm. The highlights of today's tape are COMMON GROUND-DOVE update, FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER in Connecticut, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, CAVE SWALLOW, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, WESTERN KINGBIRD, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, NORTHERN SHRIKE and much more.

The COMMON GROUND-DOVE, New York's first, pending NYSARC approval, and present at Captree State Park since October 31st, has to our knowledge not been seen there since last Sunday and may have departed. If still looking for it concentrate around the short grass areas up to the south parking lot and along the north edge of the south parking lot.

However the FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER in Stamford, Connecticut was still present today. Directions to Cove Island Park are as follows: coming from New York from the New England thruway, Route 95, take exit 9 and turn right or south onto Seaside Avenue, continue to the light at the end and turn left onto Cove Road, the entrance to Cove Island Park is straight ahead, once in the park turn right and go past the skating rink and park in the southwest corner of the lot, the entrance to the sanctuary is on the left side of the brick building and the flycatcher has spent much of its time around the shrubs and small trees on the western side of the open area.

A nice influx of CAVE SWALLOWS took place due to the strong winds on Wednesday. Fourteen were counted moving along the Coney Island boardwalk and another 5 were noted at Breezy Point with 1 also appearing at Jones Beach West End. Then today at West End an apparently not terribly healthy CAVE SWALLOW, sitting near the roadway between brief flights, was finally killed by a vehicle and 3 other CAVE SWALLOWS were seen together moving west.

Also at Jones Beach West End the NORTHERN SHRIKE continues its stay around the Roosevelt Nature Center where over the weekend and today it spent some time hunting from the boardwalk railings. A large number of BONAPARTE'S GULLS has been present recently around Jones Beach West End ranging from the inlet off the Coast Guard Station around to the ocean beaches. Last Sunday a sub-adult LITTLE GULL was spotted in a flock off the west side of the inlet while on Tuesday an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was reported on the bar off the Coast Guard Station. Then today an adult LITTLE GULL was seen in the cove by the Coast Guard Station and an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was noted briefly farther out in the channel.

If the above doesn't entice you to the West End also today an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen briefly and photographed in the median across from the easternmost West End parking lot 2 exit. Five RED CROSSBILLS flew by, 2 or 3 COMMON REDPOLLS appeared in the median and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR was in a large flock of SNOW BUNTINGS feeding around the West End 2 parking lot. Last Sunday 7 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were around the Roosevelt Nature Center. On Tuesday at West End an injured HUDSONIAN GODWIT was seen near the Jones Beach jetty and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was found on the walkout to the jetty, 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS were on the Point Lookout side of Jones Inlet Tuesday and good numbers of COMMON EIDER are around there.

Another ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at Massapequa Preserve Tuesday around the south end of the pond in from Pittsburgh Avenue.

Out in East Hampton the goose flock along Further Lane last Sunday contained 5 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and single CACKLING GOOSE & SNOW GOOSE. On Tuesday 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and the CACKLING GOOSE were still there.

At Montauk Sunday a WESTERN KINGBIRD was a Rita's Horse Farm, where permission should be sought by birders wanting to bird there. At Montauk Point Sunday a good amount of offshore activity produced 2 drake KING EIDERS, 2 RED-NECKED GREBES and 21 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and another RED-NECKED GREBE was off Culloden Point.

At Shinnecock a RAZORBILL was spotted in the inlet last Friday and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK was reported near the Ponquogue Bridge Sunday with an AMERICAN BITTERN along Dune Road west of the bridge.

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. Happy Thanksgiving.

- End transcript