This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, October 14th, 2009. A PACIFIC LOON was reported from Ragged Neck in Rye on October 9th. A DICKCISSEL was seen near the railroad tracks on Great Bay Road in Greenland on October 11th, and again on the 14th, and one was seen on the corner of River Road and Route 108 in Stratham on October 11th. A BLACK VULTURE was reported flying over downtown Newmarket on October 10th. A COMMON MOORHEN was seen on Powwow Pond in Kingston on October 11th, and an AMERICAN COOT, a BLUE-WINGED TEAL and 4 PIED-BILLED GREBES were seen here on the 10th. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen in Rye Harbor on October 10th. A YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 13 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and a COMMON NIGHTHAWK were all seen from Island Path in Hampton on October 6th. 3 NORTHERN SHOVELERS and an AMERICAN COOT were seen on Eel Pond in Rye on October 11th. 160 BLACK SCOTERS were seen on Cherry Pond in Jefferson, and 85 were seen on Great Bay, all on October 14th. Birders on a Whale Watch to Jeffrey's Ledge out of Rye on October 11th reported 17 NORTHERN FULMARS, a CORY'S SHEARWATER, and 3 GREATER SHEARWATERS. A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE and an ICELAND GULL were seen on a cruise on the 10th. 2 RED CROSSBILLS were seen at the dam on Upper Kimball Pond in South Chatham on October 9th, and one was reported from Hancock on the 11th. An EASTERN SCREECH-OWL was reported from Exeter on October 14th and a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was heard in Temple on the 8th. 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen at The Nature Conservancy's Lubberland Creek Preserve in Newmarket on October 11th. 2 SPRUCE GROUSE were reported from the Little Cherry Pond trail at the Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson on October 8th. 8 GRAY JAYS and 5 BOREAL CHICKADEES were reported from Pittsburg on October 8th, and 3 GRAY JAYS were seen on Greenough Pond Road in Errol on the 9th. 30 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen at the wetlands mitigation project on Old Mill Road in Lee on October 12th, and 30 HORNED LARKS were seen in the fields at Horseshoe Pond in Concord on the 10th. A number of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were reported during the past week. HAWK migration is under way with 6,062 raptors, including 44 BALD EAGLES, reported from the Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory in Peterborough since September 1st. The biggest single-day counts to date were 2,129 raptors on September 16th, and 715 raptors on the 21st. NH Audubon is again operating a second raptor observatory at Carter Hill Orchard in Concord, and its biggest single day was also on the 16th with over 300 raptors. Be sure to visit both observatories 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. **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************