Sunday, October 28, 2018

Scissortail Flycatcher, Purple Gallinule, Evening Grosbeak

It's been quite an interesting Fall so far,,,I was lucky to see these birds recently: Scissortail Flycatcher at Deep Hollow Ranch, Purple Gallinule at Prospect Park, and Evening Grosbeak at Sunken Meadow.  The Flycatcher and Grosbeak have been on my wish list for some time so it's extra nice that I got to see them.

Fall Migration

I haven't posted in a while so I'll summarize some of the highlights.  I tried chasing a couple of potential lifer Philadelphia Vireos at Southard's Pond and Jones Beach but missed them.  I saw 2 Soras well at Jamaica Bay East Pond with Snouty mid September.  The fall migration seemed late but seemed to erupt about a week ago.  I saw 5 Marbled Godwits on the Jones Beach Coast Guard sandbar - there's been a group of them for several weeks.  White Crowned Sparrows seem unusually abundant this year by the beaches - vast majority are juveniles.
There was a recent report last week of a drab Evening Grosbeak at Sunken Meadow - I tried to refind it without any luck but did see lots (~30) of Purple Finches and a likely Lincoln's Sparrow.