New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, October 25, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Oct. 25, 2019
* NYNY1910.25

- Birds Mentioned
SAY’S PHOEBE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
BROWN PELICAN
American Bittern
Virginia Rail
AMERICAN AVOCET
American Oystercatcher
“Western” Willet
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Red Knot
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Parasitic Jaeger
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
American Pipit
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Grasshopper Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green 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 25, 2019 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are both BROWN and AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, a good Saturday flight day, including a report of a SAY’S PHOEBE, EURASIAN WIGEON and HARLEQUIN DUCK, AMERICAN AVOCET, MARBLED and HUDSONIAN GODWITS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, LARK and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, DICKCISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK and much more.

Both PELICANS seen locally again this week featured a BROWN PELICAN photographed last Saturday on the west jetty at the entrance to Montauk Harbor and an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN visiting the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge from Monday through today, appearing near the Raunt today off the Big John’s Pond overlook after spending most of the week on the pond’s north end.

A strong coastal flight last Saturday, dominated by YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, did produce good numbers of incoming sparrows and a variety of mostly departing species plus an intriguing report of a fly-by flycatcher at Jones Beach West End that was thought by the observer to be a SAY’S PHOEBE – unfortunately, rather than lingering to be photographed, the bird apparently just continued west.

As waterfowl numbers and variety continue to build, a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK appeared Monday out at Orient Point and a EURASIAN WIGEON was still being seen on Jamaica Bay’s East Pond at least to Tuesday. Also on the East Pond, 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS were present today, with 1 there most of the week. Other shorebirds included 5 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS on the East Pond and, out in Jamaica Bay, an HUDSONIAN GODWIT photographed as it flew by south of the West Pond, both on Sunday.

Today on Staten Island 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS were spotted later in the afternoon at Miller Field.

Four MARBLED GODWITS were still hanging out with over 200 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS and other shorebirds at Jones Beach West End on the Coast Guard island yesterday, and 7 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were counted today at their roost on Santapogue Creek in West Babylon. A “WESTERN” WILLET, a RED KNOT and a SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER were among the shorebirds on the Point Lookout wharf at the West Marina boat basin Sunday.

Two CASPIAN TERNS were still at Jones Beach West End last weekend, while the continuing ROYAL TERNS featured 42 on the beach at Jones Beach Field 6 last Sunday; these were part of a large gathering of gulls and terns both off Field 6 and off Robert Moses State Park on Sunday, providing a nice opportunity for marauding PARASITIC JAEGERS, with at least 15 noted off Moses Park and at least 7 off Jones Field 6.

Single RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were spotted at Floyd Bennet Field Saturday and in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn Wednesday.

An adult LARK SPARROW at Nickerson Beach Sunday was followed by 1 in Central Park’s north end on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was east of the entrance booth to Jones Beach West End Saturday.

A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was seen in Greenwood Cemetery Saturday and Thursday, and a SALTMARSH SPARROW in Manhattan’s Union Square Park today was joined by a MOURNING WARBLER.

A DICKCISSEL was at Jones Beach West End Saturday, while a BLUE GROSBEAK visited Greenwood Cemetery Sunday to Wednesday.

A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at Central Park’s north end Sunday followed 1 at Montauk Point last Saturday.

Other notable migrants during the week included YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, VIRGINIA RAIL, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, AMERICAN BITTERN, AMERICAN PIPIT, VESPER SPARROW, with 2 in Prospect Park to today, NELSON’S SPARROW, BOBOLINK and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

Single ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were noted Saturday on Long Island at Robert Moses State Park and on the North Fork.

A decent variety of late WARBLERS this week did include1 or more each of OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, BLACK-AND-WHITE, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, NORTHERN PARULA, BLACK-THROATEDS BLUE and GREEN, CAPE MAY, CHESTNUT-SIDED, PRAIRIE and others.

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