New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Thursday, November 28, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov 28, 2013
* NYNY1311.28

- Birds Mentioned:
KING EIDER
Red-necked Grebe
NORTHERN FULMAR
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Bald Eagle
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
SNOWY OWL
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Orange-crowned Warbler
LARK SPARROW
Lapland Longspur


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 nysarc1@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

~ Transcript ~

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

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

Compilers: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber/Editor: Karen Fung

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Thursday, November 28th, at 8:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are SNOWY OWLS, Pelagic Trip Results including NORTHERN FULMAR, WESTERN KINGBIRD, KING EIDER, LARK SPARROW, and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of a fairly extensive SNOWY OWL invasion, with mostly young birds showing up especially at coastal locations, but also at other areas where they could mostly still be in transit. It may be awhile before the owls are settled in and we can determine the extent of the incursion, but we should remind birders now to please not disturb these Snowys; they are here due to stressful conditions farther north, and we should not add further to their stress. Owls have been showing up at some traditional locations, such as singles recently at Jones Beach West End and Floyd Bennett Field on western Long Island, with up to four along Dune Road, west of Shinnecock Inlet, and up to three around Napeague Harbor on eastern Long Island. They will also presumably show up at sites from Breezy Point to Smith Point Park as well as scattered inland locations. One was this week along the Westchester coast, and two have even been in the Black Dirt region of Orange County, the beginning of an exciting and perhaps even unprecedented event.

The See Life Paulagics pelagic trip, with the Captain Lou fleet out of Freeport last Saturday, enjoying a nice ride out about 40 miles but a rougher return in strong winds, had great views of a few of the six NORTHERN FULMARS seen and various gulls in the chum slick, including three ICELAND GULLS, two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and 26 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. The GREAT SHEARWATER, one of five seen, also visited the slick, and other birds noted included singles of CORY'S SHEARWATER and SOOTY SHEARWATER, and 550 NORTHERN GANNETS.

A WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen off Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton on Monday, that same day finding a drake KING EIDER in a large scoter and eider flock off the Camp Hero Overlook at Montauk Point State Park. Also at Montauk, two ICELAND GULLS were around the Montauk Harbor Inlet, and at Napeague the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lazy Point was seen again on Monday.

SHORT-EARED OWL has also been present at Napeague, and two immature BALD EAGLES were spotted at Fort Pond in Montauk Monday.

A Selasphorus hummingbird, unidentified to species, was reported from Bryant Park in Manhattan last Saturday.

A LARK SPARROW found Monday at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn was still around at the berm just east of the cricket field today.

A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was at Heckscher State Park, field 7, last Sunday.

Single LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at Jones Beach field 6 last Sunday, off Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn Wednesday, and at Breezy Point today.

Single ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were in Prospect Park in Brooklyn Tuesday and at Oakland Lake in Queens today.

At least one RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still around Turtle Cove at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx last weekend, and two RED-NECKED GREBES were still off Playland Park in Rye on Tuesday.

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, and Happy Thanksgiving!

[~END TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~