New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 25, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 25, 2013
* NYNY1310.25

- Birds mentioned

Snow Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
Common Eider
Long-tailed Duck
Red-throated Loon
Horned Grebe
Great Cormorant
Sora
AMERICAN AVOCET
Purple Sandpiper
FRANKLIN'S GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Orange-crowned Warbler
Hooded Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Grasshopper Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
Bobolink

- 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)
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

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, October 25th 2013 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are FRANKLIN'S GULL, AMERICAN AVOCET, EURASIAN WIGEON, LARK SPARROW, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER plus a pelagic trip announcement.

An interesting Fall week was highlighted by the discovery of an immature FRANKLIN'S GULL found amongst a large group of Laughing and other gulls along the beach between parking fields 2 and 3 at Robert Moses State Park on Wednesday morning. The bird ultimately moved off due to beach activity and could not be relocated subsequently. Birders should note at least 5 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS though. Perhaps more bizarre were 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS photographed floating a short ways offshore on the ocean off the Roosevelt Nature Center at Jones Beach West End last Sunday morning. They flew off after a short swim.

As the variety of waterfowl increases locally 2 EURASIAN WIGEON were reported last Monday, one on the main pond at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale and one on the Sayville Mill Pond off Montauk Highway. COMMON EIDER was also noted Monday in Brooklyn in the bay on the east side of the Gil Hodges Bridge at Floyd Bennett Field where a BLUE GROSBEAK was seen last Saturday and Sunday. One of the first arriving SHORT-EARED OWLS was at Floyd Bennett Field last Saturday.

Riis Park provided GRASSHOPPER and NELSON'S SPARROW plus a tardy BOBOLINK last Monday when another GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was noted at Kissena Park in Queens. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn Sunday and VESPER SPARROWS appeared at Canarsie Beach Park in Brooklyn Tuesday and Oakland Lake in Queens on Wednesday.

The SORA now apparently more secretive was still being seen Wednesday in the swamp along Prospect Park Lake.

At Kissena Park in Queens Saturday an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was in the corridor and an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still present. Up to 3 more RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still residing near Turtle Cove at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx at least through Wednesday and another was seen at Jones Beach field 10 last Saturday.

Among the birds at Jones Beach West End last Saturday were a LARK SPARROW briefly at field 2 and a breeding plumaged RED-THROATED LOON off the Coast Guard Station. Over a dozen ROYAL TERNS were also in the inlet with 25 counted that day at Jones Beach field 6 these numbers continuing at least to Wednesday.

At Robert Moses State Park single CLAY-COLORED and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were near the field 2 volley ball courts last weekend and a DICKCISSEL and a HOODED WARBLER joined other birds feeding on the lawn by the maintenance buildings that day.

Out east a LARK SPARROW was present in the overflow parking lot by the Ponquogue Bridge west of Shinnecock Inlet from at least Monday afternoon to Wednesday.

Recently arriving species have included SNOW GOOSE, LONG-TAILED DUCK, HORNED GREBE, GREAT CORMORANT, PURPLE SANDPIPER and FOX SPARROWS [along with various warblers and lingering species with a few species of thrush other than Hermit] continue to be seen.

A 12 hour pelagic trip will leave Freeport Long Island at 6am on Saturday November 23rd aboard the Captain Lou VII an excellent birding vessel. The cost is $185 per person. The trip is sponsored by See Life Paulagics. For information visit their website at < http://www.paulagics.com/ > or for reservations call (215) 234-6805.

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