New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 24, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 24, 2014
* NYNY1410.24

- Birds mentioned

SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GOLDEN EAGLE
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
American Oystercatcher
MARBLED GODWIT
Red Knot
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
American Pipit
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Nelson's Sparrow
Snow Bunting
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
Red-winged Blackbird
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 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 24th 2014 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, MARBLED GODWIT, GOLDEN EAGLE, CONNECTICUT WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, LARK SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Certainly this week's top rarity was an adult SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER seen only briefly last Sunday morning at a private section of Sands Point near East Creek on Long Island's north shore. Otherwise the highlight was really an active migratory push through our area last weekend into Monday with storm systems pretty much shutting things down after that.

Sunday morning found many thousands of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS along the Atlantic shore. The birds reorienting themselves inland after having been blown out over the ocean by the very strong overnight winds. Almost 8,000 Yellow-rumps were estimated at Fort Tilden and a stationary count at Robert Moses State Park exceeded 10,000. Other species were actually not terribly well represented in this flight including such expected diurnal migrants as AMERICAN ROBIN and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. At Fort Tilden some migrants tallied Sunday included an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER going by with some BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 21 ROYAL TERNS moving south and 123 PINE SISKINS, 31 PURPLE FINCHES, 22 AMERICAN PIPITS and a DICKCISSEL. The Siskin totals improved on Monday with 610 counted out at Coney Island Creek Park along with good numbers of EASTERN PHOEBES, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and the like.

Another surprise on Sunday was an immature GOLDEN EAGLE spotted over the Edgemere Landfill in Far Rockaway. Also there Sunday were 3 WILSON'S SNIPE, these certainly on the move as two more were noted at Jones Beach West End Sunday along with singles at Randall's Island and Robert Moses State Park and elsewhere. GOLDEN EAGLES have also now begun to appear at inland hawkwatches but be aware that good numbers of Bald Eagles also continue to move through.

A decent variety at Floyd Bennett Field Sunday featured single CLAY-COLORED and VESPER SPARROWS and other good landbirds within city limits included a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at Randall's Island last Friday and Sunday the latter day also producing VESPER SPARROW and NELSON'S SPARROWS and a BLUE GROSBEAK there. Another BLUE GROSBEAK in Central Park Saturday, WORM-EATING WARBLER and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW in Prospect Park Monday and a LARK SPARROW at Marine Park in Brooklyn today.

At Jones Beach West End the number of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS gathering at high tide in the West End 2 parking lot reached 46 late Saturday afternoon with at least 30 there on Sunday. Also at high tide a MARBLED GODWIT has been visiting the bar off the Coast Guard Station with 2 there Sunday along with over 400 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS and other shorebirds including 10 RED KNOTS and a couple of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS. Large numbers of FORSTER'S TERNS continue around Jones Inlet with some ROYAL TERNS also lingering there.

Out a Robert Moses State Park notable landbirds included DICKCISSELS Saturday through Monday a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW Saturday and Sunday, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER Sunday and a SNOW BUNTING moving by today.

A late CONNECTICUT WARBLER was found at the Chandler Estate in Mount Sinai last Saturday. Other warblers spotted during the week included MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUES and GREEN, PRAIRIE, CANADA and WILSON'S. Also noted recently have been a few RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS.

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