New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 30, 2015:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 30, 2015
* NYNY1510.30

- Birds Mentioned

BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
LONG-TAILED JAEGER+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cackling Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
Redhead
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
NORTHERN FULMAR
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Northern Gannet
Northern Goshawk
Golden Eagle
Sora
American Golden-Plover
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Bonaparte’s Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Laughing Gull
Common Tern
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
WESTERN KINGBIRD
American Pipit
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Blue-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
“Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Purple Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin

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 nysarc44nybirdsorg

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

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Gail Benson

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, October 30, 2015 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are pelagic trip results, including BLACK-CAPPED PETREL and NORTHERN FULMAR, an onshore LONG-TAILED JAEGER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER and WESTERN KINGBIRD, HARLEQUIN DUCK and EURASIAN WIGEON, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and LARK SPARROW.

Last Friday the Brooklyn VI left Sheepshead Bay on a See Life Paulagics pelagic trip and by dawn was 110 miles out at the southern end of Hudson Canyon. With the water temperature still over 70 degrees, the resulting highlight was some nice views of an estimated 8 BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, continuing the extraordinary season this species has provided off the northeastern states. Also encountered out there were 7 NORTHERN FULMARS as well as 92 GREAT, 7 CORY’S and 2 MANX SHEARWATERS, a single LEACH’S and 21 WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS, 2 POMARINE JAEGERS and, closer inshore, 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS, 2 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, and 45 NORTHERN GANNETS, as well as single MOURNING DOVE and PALM WARBLER, both in a precarious situation so far offshore. Four BONAPARTE’S GULLS and 2 ROYAL TERNS were also noted on the return to Brooklyn.

Back onshore Sunday morning, with strong southwest winds roiling the south shore of Long Island, a nice JAEGER flight was observed off Robert Moses State Park early on; an estimated total of 13 PARASITIC JAEGERS was enjoyed as they constantly harassed a feeding group of LAUGHING GULLS and COMMON and mostly FORSTER’S TERNS. Also identified as it passed by heading west was an immature LONG-TAILED JAEGER. The count of over 300 NORTHERN GANNETS indicates they are now moving south in large numbers, and a distant CORY’S SHEARWATER was also seen. Another PARASITIC JAEGER was spotted off Riis Park Wednesday afternoon.

Last Saturday morning an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen briefly at Dreier-Offerman Park, and this was followed Sunday by a WESTERN KINGBIRD by Dead Horse Bay, just west of Floyd Bennett Field, 2 nice Flycatchers for Brooklyn.

Joining the list of arriving waterfowl was a female HARLEQUIN DUCK by the Jones Beach West End jetty Tuesday, a COMMON EIDER also there. Also at West End Tuesday were an immature PARASITIC JAEGER and 15 SNOW BUNTINGS. The LARK SPARROW continuing along the edge of the western most turnaround going into Field 2 was still being reported Thursday.

The drake EURASIAN WIGEON and 2 REDHEAD were still on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last weekend.

A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Monday, this also a good site to see NELSON’S SPARROW, and a VESPER SPARROW was at Jones Beach West End to Tuesday, while 6 VESPERS were counted at Croton Point Park in Westchester Monday.

Lingering RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS included 1 in Central Park to Tuesday, 1 at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn through today, and 2 at Jones Beach West End last Saturday. And the injured SORA has continued at the Loch at Central Park’s north end through today.

Two CACKLING GEESE were reported from Pelham Bay Park Saturday, and later Shorebirds included the AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER still at Great Kills Park on Staten Island Sunday and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at the Captree Island marsh, also on Sunday.

Local inland hawk watches have been visited by a small number of GOLDEN EAGLES and very occasional NORTHERN GOSHAWKS lately, and the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch in Bedford reported a single RED CROSSBILL flying by there on Thursday. Small numbers of PINE SISKINS and PURPLE FINCHES also continue to move through the area.

Other notable migrants seen recently have featured 2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS in Brooklyn last Saturday and some AMERICAN PIPITS, plus such arriving SPARROWS as AMERICAN TREE, FOX, and the “IPSWICH” form of SAVANNAH, the latter along the outer beaches. A few ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were noted during the week, and late was a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER reported in Central Park Monday.

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