New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 17, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 17, 2014
* NYNY1410.17

- Birds mentioned

Wood Duck
EURASIAN WIGEON
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
Common Gallinule
American Golden-Plover
MARBLED GODWIT
Pectoral Sandpiper
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
WESTERN KINGBIRD
PHILADELPHIA VIREO
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
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 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, October 17th 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are EURASIAN WIGEON, WESTERN KINGBIRD, MARBLED GODWIT, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, LARK SPARROW, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK and DICKCISSEL.

Following the drake on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge two more EURASIAN WIGEONS were uncovered this week. One a male molting into good plumage was spotted on Patchogue Lake on Monday. This lake currently is hosting a COMMON GALLINULE that is often seen from vantage points at the end of East 2nd or East 3rd Streets on the western side of the lake. The other drake EURASIAN WIGEON was on Stump Pond in Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown on Tuesday joining a congregation of waterfowl that included 12 WOOD DUCKS, 70 AMERICAN WIGEON, 6 GREEN-WINGED TEAL and 12 RING-NECKED DUCKS.

Some decent migratory movement took place during the week. Last Sunday produced well over one thousand PINE SISKINS moving west past Robert Moses State Park accompanied by a lot of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, some PURPLE FINCHES, a dozen RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, some RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS and other seasonal migrants.

Unusual migrants uncovered on Sunday included BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, a PHILADELPHIA VIREO at Fort Tilden, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Fort Tilden and Lido Beach and elsewhere, a LARK SPARROW east of field 7 at Heckscher State Park and a DICKCISSEL in East Hampton. In addition several CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS have been reported recently from various locations including Jones Beach West End, Prospect Park, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, Pelham Bay Park and the Shirley Marina. Certainly a good time of year to find this species but be aware of the very similar fall immature Chipping Sparrows and make sure the lores are a clear pale buffy to confirm a CLAY-COLORED. The VESPER SPARROW has been hanging out in Prospect Park since Sunday still there today around the ballfields and a BLUE GROSBEAK was reported in the park Tuesday. Another BLUE GROSBEAK was found Wednesday in the field 2 dump at Sunken Meadow State Park and just in a WESTERN KINGBIRD was spotted at that location today.

Other interesting birds in the city parks recently have featured one or two late COMMON NIGHTHAWKS to at least Wednesday, up to 6 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at Marine Park in Brooklyn Sunday and an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER at Floyd Bennett Field last Saturday while Plumb Beach in Brooklyn added an AMERICAN BITTERN Monday.

Later warblers reported this week include TENNESSEE, BAY-BREASTED and WILSON'S WARBLER and sparrows have included some LINCOLN'S with NELSON'S now occurring with lingering SALTMARSH and SEASIDE SPARROWS in various coastal marshes.

At Jones Beach West End a MARBLED GODWIT has been appearing on the Coast Guard Station bar among the several hundred American Oystercatchers and other shorebirds. Up to 7 ROYAL TERNS have also visited there and a large number of FORSTER'S TERNS continues around Jones Inlet with over 200 seen sitting on the pilings with shorebirds at the Point Lookout Marina by the waterworks last Sunday. Also at the parking field at West End 2 continues to attract LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS at high tide especially with 10 there last Sunday and 13 on Monday. Last Saturday an arriving AMERICAN TREE SPARROW was in East Hampton and the lingering RED-NECKED GREBE was still at Mecox.

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