New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 19, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 19, 2012
* NYNY1210.19

- Birds mentioned

THAYER'S GULL+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Snow Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
Common Eider
Horned Grebe
Northern Goshawk
Golden Eagle
Solitary Sandpiper
Red Knot
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Bonaparte's Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Mourning Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
DICKCISSEL
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
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 nysarc3 AT nybirds.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)
486 High Street
Victor, NY 14564

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, October 19th 2012 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are a possible THAYER'S GULL, WESTERN KINGBIRD, EURASIAN WIGEON, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, LARK SPARROW, DICKCISSEL and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

This was a more typical Fall week lacking some of the better rarities present in the preceding weeks with the possible exception of what was believed to be an immature THAYER'S GULL seen and photographed early this afternoon on parking field 2 at Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island. There were also 6 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS present. The THAYER'S flew down the beach and was not subsequently relocated.

Probably the most unusual bird in the city limits was a WESTERN KINGBIRD that put in a brief appearance in Prospect Park in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon the bird perching on trees on the south side of the baseball fields before moving off.

In Central Park an immature MOURNING WARBLER with only one leg has been lingering north of Tupelo Meadow in the Ramble since Saturday. Among the other warblers have been an ORANGE-CROWNED at the north end last weekend and a couple of CAPE MAYS on Tuesday. A LONG-EARED OWL has also shown up and PINE SISKINS and PURPLE FINCHES plus many seasonal sparrows and other later landbirds are currently in residence not only in Central but in most other city parks as well.

Siskin numbers have been huge and there is indication that Red Crossbill and Evening Grosbeak may be on their way south as well.

Another ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was found at Powell's Cove Park in Queens today.

Some "sharp-tailed" type sparrows in a marsh on the northeast shore of Randall's Island recently have provoked some discussion as both NELSON'S and SALTMARSH could be present.

Single CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS were spotted near the ballfields at Fort Tilden and along the hedgerow at the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station during the week and others have been proposed.

With an interesting increase in the number of CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS reported this Fall we do hope that observers are carefully eliminating immature Chipping Sparrow which can look very similar to a CLAY-COLORED. Probably the most consistent separating field mark is the unmarked, plain buffy lores of a CLAY-COLORED where as Chipping has a dark loral streak sometimes not easy to see.

VESPER SPARROWS have shown up well this past week with one at Floyd Bennett Field Saturday, 3 at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village Queens on Sunday and on northern Long Island 3 at Caumsett State Park Thursday and 3 at Upland Farm Sanctuary in Cold Spring Harbor today with a few others also noted. Other birds at Caumsett Thursday featured 6 SNOW GEESE, HORNED GREBE, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, some EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and 12 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS.

Recent shorebirds on Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's East Pond have included STILT SANDPIPER and WILSON'S SNIPE Saturday, some PECTORAL and 2 LEAST SANDPIPERS and increasing numbers of DUNLIN Wednesday while birds on the bar off the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station last Sunday included 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a WESTERN SANDPIPER and 5 RED KNOTS with 1 COMMON and 3 ROYAL TERNS and a BONAPARTE'S GULL and 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were on the West End parking lot 2.

A drake EURASIAN WIGEON coming into plumage has been present in Sayville recently seen Monday and Thursday on Mill Pond just off Montauk Highway.

Moving east at Smith Point County Park in Shirley Saturday there were 3 DICKCISSELS and an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER while Thursday produced 9 lingering ROYAL TERNS and a flight of 600 plus PINE SISKINS. Six more ROYALS were at Mecox on Monday.

Highlights at Montauk Point included a PARASITIC JAEGER and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW on Monday the CLAY-COLORED continuing to Wednesday when 12 COMMON EIDER were also offshore.

At the ECL Farm along Long Lane in East Hampton Wednesday there were a LARK SPARROW and 2 DICKCISSELS.

A good variety of hawks including GOLDEN EAGLE and NORTHERN GOSHAWK have been passing by inland hawkwatches on good winds recently.

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