New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending November 10, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 10, 2017
* NYNY1711.10

- Birds Mentioned

CORN CRAKE+
BROWN BOOBY+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
SANDHILL CRANE
American Golden-Plover
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
Long-billed Dowitcher
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
NORTHERN FULMAR
Great Shearwater
American Bittern
SAY’S PHOEBE
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Lapland Longspur
Orange-crowned Warbler
Clay-colored Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK

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

Compilers: Tom Burke and 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, November 10, 2017 at 8:00 pm. [Note: Posted late due to technical difficulties.]

The highlights of today’s tape are CORN CRAKE, BROWN BOOBY, SAY’S PHOEBE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, SANDHILL CRANE, NORTHERN FULMAR, NORTHERN SHRIKE, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, BLUE GROSBEAK and much more.

But firstly, our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Holly Wilson, who passed away this week much too early in life. Holly was a spirited young lady and exuberant new birder, and we will certainly miss seeing her in the field.

Quite spectacular this week was the discovery of a young CORN CRAKE feeding along Ocean Parkway at Cedar Beach Tuesday morning. The bird fed along a stretch of grass next to the brushline continually disappearing into the bordering brush throughout the day. The Crake remained there all day Wednesday but was venturing out further into the grass, much closer to the roadway, and this may have been its undoing, as it was found dead Thursday morning, having been struck by a car. The retrieved specimen was transported to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where quick analysis determined it was a somewhat underweight male in otherwise decent condition. Most unusual in this case was that many birders got to enjoy this individual before it died, as most U.S. records of this very rare vagrant involve Crakes dispatched by hunters.

The adult BROWN BOOBY was still present on Lake Montauk last Sunday, our only report this week.

A nice find was a SAY’S PHOEBE seen briefly near Field 8 at Heckscher State Park Wednesday morning but not seen again thereafter, despite searching. During the week Heckscher has hosted some nice shorebirds, including 4 different HUDSONIAN GODWITS, an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, these mostly at a puddle in Field 7.

Three SANDHILL CRANES flying over the Greenwich Audubon hawk watch Tuesday may have been the same three reported over northern Staten Island on Wednesday.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was seen mostly in the Orchard Beach parking lot at Pelham Bay Park, visiting there at least to Tuesday, and also there on Sunday were an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE photographed before it flew off and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR feeding in the parking lot most of the day.

A NORTHERN SHRIKE was photographed Thursday morning at Jones Beach West End Field 2, and a BLUE GROSEAK was found at the West End turnaround last Sunday, while 21 TUNDRA SWANS were reported flying over the West End mid-day Thursday.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was with CANADAS off Oakleigh Avenue north of Sound Avenue in Calverton today, a couple of CACKLING GEESE have been reported this week, and last Saturday EURASIAN WIGEON were seen on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and on Eastport Pond. An HUDSONIAN GODWIT was also on the East Pond Saturday.

Pelagic birds from the south shore of Long Island featured 2 GREAT SHEARWATERS off Robert Moses State Park Sunday, a PARASITIC JAEGER off Fort Tilden Wednesday, with 2 Thursday, and 2 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES off Camp Hero at Montauk Point Sunday, while a boat 6 miles south of Amagansett Monday reported a NORTHERN FULMAR and a GREAT SHEARWATER.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was in Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn all week, and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center Saturday. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR flew over Robert Moses State Park Thursday. Other species of note this week have included some AMERICAN BITTERNS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and numerous lingering late migrants.

To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734 4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922 and leave a message.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript