HUDSON-DELAWARE 
Another mid-continental species increasingly reported in extralimital settings in recent years is Lark Bunting, here at Fire Is- 
land, New York 17-22 (here 16) September 2008. Photograph byShaiMitra. 
early date of 13 Oct (Cliff Hagen). Six Long- 
eared Owls were reported from 12 Oct-r, and 
a Regional total of 31 Short-eared Owls in- 
cluded 16 at Cape Vincent, St. Lawrence, NY 
28 Nov, 6 at DeKorte Park, Bergen, NJ 29 Nov 
(RD), and 7 at Van Dyne Spoor Rd., Wayne, 
NY 29 Nov (Leona Lauster). The largest 
counts of Common Nighthawks were 48 at 
Cape May 16 Sep OGu) and 40 at Passaic 16 
Sep (MBr), highlighting a serious decline. 
High counts of Chimney Swifts were 740 at 
York, Monroe, NY 1 Sep (JK) and 504 in Or- 
leans, NY 12 Sep (C. Morien). A Ruby-throat- 
ed Hummingbird at Orchard Park, Erie, NY 7 
Nov was the latest ever for that locality 
(Kathy Kroldart, m.ob.), and other late dehn- 
itive Ruby-throateds were at Cape May 8 & 
22 Nov (RC, KL et ah). Ten Selasphoms hum- 
mingbirds were reported in the Region, 3 of 
these captured and identihed as Rufous (RRV, 
TB et ah). One Rufous/Allens was at North- 
port, Suffolk, Long 1. 9-11 Nov (Norm Klein, 
m.ob.), and the rest were in Newjersey where 
one was a flyby at Cape May 14 Aug (T. Reed) 
and the rest were at feeders 3 Nov-r. Red-bel- 
lied Woodpeckers were unusually far n. at Ft. 
Drum, Jefferson, NY OSB) and Chazy, Clinton 
20 Nov-i- (Donna Fletcher). Twenty Yellow- 
bellied Sapsuckers were at Cape May on both 
30 Sep and 6 Oct (CJV, JGu), and high counts 
of Northern Flickers were all rather low: 590 
at Cape May 30 Sep (SG et al.) and 200 at Fire 
1. 5 Oct (SSM). 
FLYCATCHERS THROUGH 
WAXWINGS 
Thirteen Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were 
banded at Braddock Bay 1-16 Sep, and 4 Aca- 
dian Flycatchers were at Bombay Hook 16 
Aug (KG). Ten Alder Flycatchers were seen 2 
Aug along French Rd., Lewis, NY (T. Magari- 
an). A Say’s Phoebe was reported 22 Oct at 
Batavia (Brad Carlson) for about a 30th Re- 
gional record. Only 2 Ash-throated Flycatch- 
ers were reported, both on 29 Nov, following a 
record total last fall. One was at Cape May 
(Lin & Jim Thist), the other at Thompson 
Park, Monmouth, NJ (Wendy & Stuart 
Malmid, L. Mack et al). An ad. Scissor-tailed 
Flycatcher was at Shawangunk Grasslands, 
Ulster, NY 17 Aug (RG, Alison van Keuren), 
and another, an ad. male, was at Moravia, 
Cayuga, NY (TL, m.ob.). Only 4 Western 
Kingbirds were found 17 Aug-5 Oct, all at the 
coast. About 28 Northern Shrikes were found 
14 Oct-r, with one s. to CumbcrlaruJ, NJ 16 
Nov (KJ). A White-eyed Vireos in Wilson, Ni- 
agara, NY 24-28 Oct (WD’A, BPo) was far 
north. Philadelphia Vireos seemed especially 
common this fall, especially in contrast to the 
generally poor passerine flight: higher counts 
were 7 each at Ripley, Chautauqua, NY and 
Howland L, Cayuga, NY 13 Sep OR BPu), plus 
several coastal counts of 3-4 birds per locality. 
The only sizeable Blue Jay flight reported was 
of a (low) 1074 at Bishop Road Hawkwatch 23 
Sep (BPu), and 5200 American Crows were 
counted at the same place 1 Nov (BPu). Eight 
Common Ravens were found outside their 
current breeding range in Erie, Chautauqua, 
and Genesee, NY 27 Sep-6 Nov, and 2 or more 
birds were present most of the fall at Staten L, 
NY (HF, SW et al.), where very rare. 
Five hundred or more Purple Martins 
congregated at one of their traditional sites 
at Chatsworth, Burlington, NJ 17 Aug (TB), 
and 204 passed the Ripley Hawkwatch 7 Sep 
OP). No longer unusual, about 300 total 
Cave Swallows were noted 22 Oct-18 Nov, 
peaking at 200 at Cape May 16-17 Nov 
(MO’B et al.). Three reports were made 3 
Nov — one at Cape May, 14-22 in the Niaga- 
ra area (WD’A), and 13 at Hamlin Beach 
(RSp et al.) — and three reports 11 Nov: 50 at 
Cape May (CJV), 8 at Breezy Pt., Queens, 
NY (DGo), and 7 at Fairhaven, Cayuga, NY 
(BPu). Some 37 were recorded in Delaware 
8-14 Nov (FR, BGR FRo, ES). Ten Sedge 
Wrens included 7 at Fort Drum, Jefferson, 
NY (where they nest) 8 Sep QSB) and singles 
at Cumberland Head, Clinton, NY 22 Aug 
(BK), Hogan Pt., Greece, Monroe, NY 1 
Sep-14 Oct (m.ob.), and Higbee Beach, 
Cape May throughout Nov (BF). Sixty Gold- 
en-crowned Kinglets were at Fire 1. 11 Oct 
(SSM), and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was late 
at Fredonia, Chautauqua, NY 29 Oct Ooanne 
Goetz). Three Northern Wheatears were 
found: one at Cape May 19-25 Sep (MO’B, 
AH et al.), one on Garret Mt. 3 Oct (MBr et 
al.), and another in a Lowville, St. Lawrence, 
NY yard 15 Oct (T. Magarian, m.ob.). Twen- 
ty-one Veeries were in Central Park 8 Sep 
QBa, CW), 20 were heard overhead at night 
16 Sep in Tompkins, NY (KR), and 16 were 
seen at Jones Beach 8 Sep (Ken & Sue 
Feustel). Counts of migrant thrushes sug- 
gest a proportional increase of Gray- 
cheekeds: 10 were seen 13 Sep-18 Oct in St. 
Lawrence, NY; 10 were heard overhead at 
night in Tompkins, NY 5 Oct (KR); and 65 
were banded at Braddock Bay 16-30 Sep. 
Twenty-one Bicknell’s Thrushes were also 
banded at Braddock Bay 13-30 Sep, and tbe 
totals for Swainson’s Thrushes banded there 
were 86 in Sep and 6 in Oct. In addition, 62 
Swainson’s were heard at Tonawonda 15 Sep 
(Paul Hess) and 100 on the same night in 
Tompkins, NY (KR); 40 Wood Thrushes 
^ A A member of the Yellow Wagtail complex discovered at Plum Beach, Brooklyn, NY 7 Sep (ph. DGo), a young bird, 
represents the 3rd record for any member of this complex in e. North America, there being sight records from Ala- 
bama 29 Sep 2003 and Clinton, NY 13 Sep 2005 (not acc.). The complex has recently been split by the American Ornitholo- 
gists' Union into Yellow Wagtail [Motacilla flam) and Eastern Yellow Wagtail (M. tschutschensis). The two species, or groups, 
may not be distinguishable in juvenal and first-winter plumages, but tschutschensis does tend to be less yellowish than, and 
to lack the whitish malar streak of, many flava, and the Plum Beach bird resembled tschutschensis in these respects. 
52 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
