New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 18, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 18, 2019
* NYNY1910.18

- Birds Mentioned

VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Brant
King Eider
AMERICAN AVOCET
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
POMARINE JAEGER
Parasitic Jaeger
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
Caspian Tern
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
BROWN PELICAN
American Bittern
WESTERN KINGBIRD
American Robin
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Grasshopper Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Yellow-breasted Chat
Orange-crowned Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Hooded Warbler
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL

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
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 18, 2019 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are VARIED THRUSH, BROWN PELICAN, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, WESTERN KINGBIRD, POMARINE JAEGER, AMERICAN AVOCET, MARBLED GODWIT, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, CLAY-COLORED and LARK SPARROWS, BLUE GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL and more.

Another week of less than ideal conditions did today provide a nice surprise when a male VARIED THRUSH was spotted at the Alley Pond Environmental Center in Queens. The bird, feeding with American Robins, was seen briefly but disappeared along the trail that goes south from the parking lot along the boardwalk that leads to the observation platform. The entrance to APEC is off Northern Boulevard just east of the Cross Island Parkway.

An interesting incursion of BROWN PELICANS last Sunday included 15 seen moving east past Staten Island’s Huguenot Avenue Beach in the afternoon, after 3 were seen earlier off Franklin D. Roosevelt Beach in Ocean Breeze. Other Sunday sightings featured 1 off Fort Tilden, 3 off Brooklyn’s Coney Island Beach and 1 going west by Jones Beach West End. Monday provided 1 further east off Dune Road east of Triton Lane followed Tuesday by 1 moving by Mecox Bay.

There was also a report of an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN visiting Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s West Pond for a while on Wednesday.

A WESTERN KINGBIRD found last Sunday at West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook was not reported there after Tuesday.

A sea watch off Riis Park last Wednesday recorded a POMARINE JAEGER along with 2 PARASITIC and 2 unidentified JAEGERS as well as an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE.

The 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS on Jamaica Bay’s East Pond recently were down to 2 by Thursday, when 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were also reported there; STILT and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were also noted there last weekend.

Three or four MARBLED GODWITS continue to be seen on the island off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End through today, and a couple of CASPIAN TERNS visited there in mid-week.

A female KING EIDER was still around Orient Point last Saturday, when an AMERICAN BITTERN was spotted at the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area.

At Jones Beach West End a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was around the hedgerow by the Coast Guard Station from Monday through today, when a second was also located nearby.

The Prospect Park LARK SPARROW was last reported last Saturday, when another was seen at an East Hampton farm.

A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was found in Central Park today at the Oven, and a VESPER SPARROW was located Tuesday at the recently opened Shirley Chisholm State Park, the former landfill reached from the southern end of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn. The extensive grasslands there could prove to be very interesting.

NELSON’S SPARROWS are now very widespread in salt marshes locally, including such locations as Plumb Beach, the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area and Pelham Bay Park.

YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were noted at Prospect Park Sunday, Montauk Point Monday, and Robert Moses State Park today.

Among the decreasing variety of WARBLERS was a CONNECTICUT identified during the morning flight at Robert Moses State Park last Sunday, and a HOODED male was at Battery Park on Tuesday. Now is a decent time to look for ORANGE CROWNED WARBLERS.

BLUE GROSBEAKS this week included singles at Captree State Park Sunday, Jones Beach West End Tuesday, and Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn today.

A few DICKCISSELS included Sunday sightings from Fort Tilden to Robert Moses State Park and Montauk Point and up to Croton Point, with another at Jones Beach West End Monday.

Large numbers of Brant began arriving today

To phone in reports please 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