New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, November 16, 2018:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Nov. 16, 2018
* NYNY1811.16

- Birds mentioned
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER+
GRAY KINGBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Parasitic Jaeger
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
Lesser Black-backed Gull
LITTLE GULL
Harlequin Duck
American Bittern
Cattle Egret
SANDHILL CRANE
Marbled Godwit
NORTHERN GOSHAWK
Rusty Blackbird
Evening Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Red Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
BLUE GROSBEAK
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Worm-eating Warbler
Cape May Warbler
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (western subspecies "Audubon's" form)

- 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

Compilers: Tom Burke and 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 16th 2018 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are GRAY KINGBIRD, SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, NORTHERN SHRIKE, LITTLE GULL, SANDHILL CRANE, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, Audubon's form of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK and some winter finches.

Last Saturday morning a GRAY KINGBIRD was found and photographed near the park entrance booth at Jones Beach West End. Those who could get there quickly were able to see the KINGBIRD but with the heavy winds the bird disappeared shortly thereafter and could not be subsequently be relocated.

Given its rarity locally, a SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER Saturday morning at Point Lookout Town Park across Jones Inlet from the GRAY KINGBIRD received surprisingly little notoriety and also could not be re-found once word starting getting spread. Four HARLEQUIN DUCKS were around the Point Lookout jetties Saturday.

A great coastal flight Sunday morning after Saturday's winds abated somewhat was documented nicely at Fort Tilden and at Robert Moses State Park. A highlight at Fort Tilden was an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE hanging around the Battery Harris observation site for awhile before disappearing at midday. Also notable there were various winter finches including single EVENING GROSBEAK and COMMON REDPOLL among over 95 PINE SISKINS and 125 PURPLE FINCHES, 79 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were also counted and 2 RED-NECKED GREBES were seen offshore with a few other RED-NECKEDS also noted this week. At Robert Moses State Park Sunday there were around 1,000 PINE SISKINS as well as an EVENING GROSBEAK and a few RED CROSSBILLS with 5 RED CROSSBILLS also found feeding in the conifers at the inner Jones Beach West End turnaround. The hedgerow by the West End Coast Guard Station Sunday provided an Audubon's form of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER as well as a CAPE MAY WARBLER. A second immature NORTHERN SHRIKE also appeared Sunday at Heckscher State Park near field 6 but it too flew off around midday.

On Thursday a large offshore congregation of gulls at Moses Park featured an immature LITTLE GULL and attracted a PARASITIC JAEGER. A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen off Moses Wednesday morning.

Among some widely dispersed EVENING GROSBEAKS this week was one at Jones Beach West End yesterday while a few sightings of RED CROSSBILLS included one each at Green-wood Cemetery Sunday and Floyd Bennett Field Monday, these in Brooklyn, 6 more at Jones Beach West End Tuesday, 6 at Moses Park Wednesday and 5 at Tobay Beach today.

At the hawkwatch site at the Greenwich Audubon Center in northwestern Greenwich a flock of about 30 SANDHILL CRANES past high over the site Wednesday morning followed by another much lower group of 12 Thursday morning both flocks moving southwest into Westchester County. The Wednesday group was seen approaching the Hudson River near Ardsley but the Thursday dozen were not sighted again.

CATTLE EGRETS included one over Point Lookout and 2 at Wainscott Pond last Saturday as well as one at Southaven County Park on Tuesday. This latter one presumably the same one seen today in the Route 27 median just west of the park.

NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, all immatures, were reported this week from Pelham Bay Park Saturday, from Tobay and West Gilgo Sunday, presumably the same individual, and at Moses Park Wednesday. At least 4 MARBLED GODWITS continued at Jones Beach West End to Thursday and up to 12 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were in the Jones Beach West End parking lot to Saturday.

Single AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen today at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center in Brooklyn and at Tobay. A BLUE GROSBEAK was found at the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers last Sunday and among some late warblers was a WORM-EATING Monday in Gardiner County Park in West Bayshore.

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

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

- End transcript