New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, November 21, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 21, 2014
* NYNY1411.21

- Birds mentioned

WHITE-WINGED DOVE+
COMMON GROUND-DOVE+
CASSIN'S KINGBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Eurasian Wigeon
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
CATTLE EGRET
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
MARBLED GODWIT
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Parasitic Jaeger
SNOWY OWL
Blue-headed Vireo
Cliff Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Savannah Sparrow (subspecies "Ipswich Sparrow")
Lapland Longspur

- 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, November 21st 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are COMMON GROUND-DOVE, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, SNOWY OWL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, CATTLE EGRET, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, MARBLED GODWIT and ICELAND GULL.

The COMMON GROUND-DOVE, now with its tail almost fully regrown, was still at Jones Beach West End Thursday continuing around the eastern entrance and exit to West End parking field 2 but usually in the grassy areas bordering the entrance road especially. It has also taken to foraging along the cement edges of the entrance road and the parking lot itself.

Another second New York State record, a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, was spotted and photographed midday Saturday along the entrance road into Floyd Bennett Field. Unfortunately word of this kingbird could not begin circulating until after dark and many birders searching on Sunday were unrewarded. It seems a number of rare flycatchers recently have not been publicized timely. Is this a problem with the family? Or the fact that there are too many alternative and very localized information dissemination systems? We need a consistent centralized method to get the word out quickly not in increasingly fragmented ones.

Two WHITE-WINGED DOVE sightings last weekend might conceivably have involved the same rapidly traveling bird. The first White-winged was spotted Saturday at Fort Tilden, the second Sunday along Dune Road between West Hampton Beach and Quogue. Neither was reported the day following observation.

A SNOWY OWL was noted at Jones Beach last weekend and there have been a couple of other sightings recently so be on the alert for them but don't expect an incursion like last Winter's.

The drake HARLEQUIN DUCK was at the Jones Beach West End jetty Sunday and on Wednesday a pair of HARLEQUINS was present along the easternmost jetty at Point Lookout bordering Jones Inlet. Also in the Jones Beach area last Saturday the MARBLED GODWIT was on the bar off the Coast Guard Station and one immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continued in the West End 2 parking lot. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at West End Sunday and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR stopped by the West End 2 lot with Horned Larks today.

Other birds at Fort Tilden last weekend included RED-NECKED GREBE and CLIFF SWALLOW on Saturday and a PARASITIC JAEGER offshore Sunday.

In Brooklyn a drake EURASIAN WIGEON has recently been at Bush Terminal Piers Park located west of 1st Avenue between 44th and 50th Streets and an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER visited Plumb Beach last Saturday. Other interesting city birds have featured a WOOD THRUSH lingering in central Manhattan, WILSON'S WARBLER Thursday and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER last Saturday in Kissena Park in Queens and a few BLUE-HEADED VIREOS. Well over 40 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were at Floyd Bennett Field on Sunday.

Out on eastern Long Island a CATTLE EGRET was seen on a horse field on the north side of Further Lane in East Hampton Monday and an ICELAND GULL was off Fort Pond Bay in Montauk on Sunday. Other birds seen along Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet Sunday included AMERICAN BITTERN, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW.

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