This is New Hampshire Audubon’s Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, October 9th, 2013. A BLACK SKIMMER was seen in Hampton Harbor on October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. A LITTLE GULL, 4 FORSTER’S TERNS, a COMMON TERN, and a WESTERN SANDPIPER were all seen in Hampton Harbor on October 5th. 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS and 25 LAUGHING GULLS were reported from coastal Rye on October 6th. A BONAPARTE’S GULL was seen on the Connecticut River near Hanover on October 6th. A LARK SPARROW was seen at Morrill’s Farm in Penacook on October 5th. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen along Abbott Road in Concord on October 6th. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was seen in Hampton on October 3rd and 4th. 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS were seen at Morrill’s Farm in Penacook on October 6th. An AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER was seen along the Androscoggin River just west of Lake Umbagog on October 6th. 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were seen in Rochester on October 4th. A SHORT-EARED OWL was seen flying over Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey on October 5th, and 4 HORNED LARKS were also seen. 5 BRANT were seen along the coast on October 6th. A SNOW GOOSE and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD were reported from the Carter Hill Orchard in Concord on October 8th. A RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was seen at Lake Nubanusit in Hancock on October 4th. 8 HORNED GREBES were seen on Lake Umbagog on October 5th. A flock of 18 BLACK SCOTERS was seen on the Connecticut River in Hinsdale, and 7 SURF SCOTERS were seen at the Moore Reservoir in Littleton, all on October 6th. A pair of SPRUCE GROUSE was seen in Cambridge, west of Lake Umbagog, on October 4th. A pair of GRAY JAYS was seen on the summit of Mount Webster, and a pair was seen on the summit of Mount Jackson in the White Mountains on October 5th. 3 GRAY JAYS were seen in Errol on the 6th. A female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was seen in Errol on October 5th. A pair of BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS and a PIED-BILLED GREBE were seen at Little Cherry Pond in Jefferson on October 5th. 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen at World End Pond in Salem on October 9th, and a FISH CROW, a GREAT CORMORANT, a RUSTY BLACKBIRD, a SORA, 2 VIRGINIA RAILS, and 2 MARSH WRENS were seen here on the 5th. An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen near Powder Mill Pond in Hancock on October 3rd. An EASTERN SCREECH-OWL was heard in Bedford on October 6th. 20 TURKEY VULTURES were seen in Weare on October 6th, 20 were seen in Berlin on the 4th, and 30 were seen in Durham on the 3rd. There were several reports of MERLINS and PEREGRINE FALCONS from scattered locations during the past week. RAPTOR migration is under way with over 10,000 migrating raptors reported from the Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory in Peterborough, and over 10,400 reported from the Carter Hill Observatory in Concord, all since September 1st. Be sure to visit these New Hampshire Audubon sponsored observatories this fall season to help out with the count! This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and press 2 as directed or ask to be transferred. If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail at: [log in to unmask] Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org Thanks very much and good birding.