New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 28, 2016:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 28, 2016
* NYNY1610.28

- Birds Mentioned

Snow Goose
CACKLING GOOSE
EURASIAN WIGEON
Hummingbird – possible Selasphorus
Black-bellied Plover
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Red Knot
Pectoral Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Red-throated Loon
Great Cormorant
CATTLE EGRET
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Merlin
Eastern Bluebird
American Pipit
Snow Bunting
Orange-crowned Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
American Tree Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
DICKCISSEL
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 28, 2016 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are CACKLING GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, CATTLE EGRET, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, MOURNING WARBLER and DICKCISSEL.

Perhaps the week’s most unexpected occurrence was the modest influx of CATTLE EGRETS, though, given their mobility, the exact number involved would be difficult to determine. The one found Thursday the 20th at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx was last seen on Saturday, chased from the parade ground by a dog. One was also found Saturday at Floyd Bennett Field, and for the next few days that area of Brooklyn and Queens hosted at least 2 individuals. With 1 seen to Wednesday at Floyd Bennett, a 2nd was noted there Tuesday, and 2 were seen together near the Marine Parkway Bridge Tuesday. Also Fort Tilden provided 1 on Tuesday and Wednesday, while another flew over the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park Wednesday. One was also spotted at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn Monday. So, how many were there?

On the waterfowl front, with numbers increasing regularly and the 1st skeins of SNOW GEESE moving by overhead, the more unusual featured a CACKLING GOOSE at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan Sunday and at least 3 EURASIAN WIGEONS: one was still present today at the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park, another drake was on Miller’s Pond east of Maple Avenue in Smithtown Monday, and another was spotted on Fresh Pond off Fresh Pond Road in Salonga Wednesday.

An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was still in with BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS on the runways at Floyd Bennett Field during high tide last Saturday, the flock also including 2 RED KNOT and a DOWITCHER that appeared to be SHORT-BILLED.


A PECTORAL SANDPIPER was at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Sunday, where some NELSON’S SPARROWS also continue. An impressive gathering at Plumb Beach early Tuesday morning featured 88 ROYAL TERNS and an estimated 3,000 LAUGHING GULLS, and 22 AMERICAN PIPITS were counted moving by.

Also interesting were 14 ROYAL TERNS up at Goldsmith Inlet on Long Island Sound in Peconic last Tuesday.

Small numbers of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS continue to visit south shore parking lots like those at Jones Beach West End field 2 and Tobay.

Nine LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were counted along Santapogue Creek in Lindenhurst on Tuesday.

Very interesting was a Hummingbird seen very briefly at Robert Moses State Park last Sunday that appeared to be a SELASPHORUS type and not a Ruby-throated, but it disappeared too quickly to confirm an identification.

A couple of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS have been present in Central Park during the week, and another was spotted at Robert Moses State Park Wednesday.

A hawk watch in Central Park last Sunday produced 120 TURKEY and 6 BLACK VULTURES, 8 BALD EAGLES, a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, and 2 MERLINS among other raptors. Inland watches have also noted a good variety when the winds have gone northwest.

Among the passerines, single DICKCISSELS were spotted at the Chandler Estate in Miller Place Wednesday and at Mill Dam Park in Huntington today.

An apparent CLAY-COLORED SPARROW in Central Park Tuesday was identified subsequently from photos but not seen again.

Some VESPER SPARROWS locally have included 1 at Robert Moses State Park Sunday, another at Jones Beach West End Tuesday and Wednesday, and multiples at Croton Point Park in Westchester.

Among the WARBLERS, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was present in Central Park near the Great Lawn Monday and Tuesday, and an ORANGE-CROWNED was also in the park last Monday, with 2 reported there today along with several other species of lingering Warblers.

A very accommodating MOURNING WARBLER was along the hedgerow by the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End last Sunday.

Other recent migrants have featured RED-THROATED LOON, GREAT CORMORANT, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, SNOW BUNTING, and FOX and AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, and keep an eye out for PINE SISKIN.

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