Rob Jett sent a note: "I spoke with a woman today who gave a pretty 
convincing description of a Barred Owl that she and one other person 
saw in the park yesterday (Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 26 November.)" 
Follow-up failed to turn up the bird until the last day of the millennium. 
The original description by a non-birder described a bird then seen by at 
least a dozen birders. This November and December sighting is proba¬ 
bly the first published record in the New York City area for half a centu¬ 
ry. (Barred Owls were present during the early 1990s in the northern 
reaches of the city, but probably not reported.) 
This was another Northern Shrike year, with the first sighting in 
Bayville on the North Shore on 30 October, followed by reports from 
Great Kills Park, Staten Island, to the Montauk area all through 
November. At least a dozen widely scattered birds were involved. Other 
rarities noted were: Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Cave Swallow, a singing 
Sedge Wren, Mountain Bluebird and a Bohemian Waxwing. 
Two events Signaled a possible winter finch year: reports of a low pine 
cone crop in the north and an early and large influx of Red-breasted 
Nuthatches. The first real hints of the finches were a huge movement of 
American Goldfinches, a steady stream of large numbers of Pine Siskins, 
beginning in early October, and numbers of Purple Finches. Finally, Red 
Crossbills arrived at the end of October and White-winged Crossbills, in 
lesser numbers, starting in early November. Both crossbills continued 
into late November. Other than the goldfinches, almost none of these 
birds paused for more than short periods. By the end of the season they 
were mostly gone. 
As a final observation, the following formerly uncommon birds in our 
Region now appear to be widely distributed and routinely seen, a trend 
we hope will continue: Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Hudsonian Godwit, 
Marbled Godwit, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, 
Orange-crowned Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrow and Blue Grosbeak. 
A note to those observing Eastern Screech-Owls in Central Park dur¬ 
ing the past year: Per Robert DeCandido, a collaborative effort of New 
York City with the Raptor Trust (with assistance of Dr. Len Soucy) result¬ 
ed in six Eastern Screech-Owls being released into Central Park on 20 
August 1998. This is an attempt to reintroduce the species to an area 
where it bred until the 1960s. At least three were still present in the park 
more than one year later. 
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The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 
