This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, September 24th, 2014. A juvenile SWAINSON’S HAWK was seen and photographed at Woodmont Orchard in Hollis off of Sandy Hill Road. It was seen on September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd foraging on the ground and flying. It was not reported on the 24th. 2 BLACK VULTURES were seen flying at Brookline Farm in Hollis on September 20th. A CONNECTICUT WARBLER was seen at the city “stump dump” located on Abbott Road in Penacook on September 22nd. Birders visiting Star Island, one of the Isles of Shoals located off the coast, reported an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 2 CAPE MAY WARBLERS, a PALM WARBLER, a PINE WARBLER, over 20 BLACKPOLL WARBLERS, a LINCOLN’S SPARROW, a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, a GREAT CORMORANT, a PEREGRINE FALCON, and a NORTHERN HARRIER all on September 23rd. An AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and an AMERICAN PIPIT were reported from Pack Monadnock in Peterborough on September 23rd. 2 RED CROSSBILLS were seen in Sandwich on September 18th, and 2 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were seen in Pittsfield on the 24th. A COMMON NIGHTHAWK was reported from Durham on September 17th. 3 EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILLS were heard at the Mast Yard State Forest in Penacook on September 15th and 17th. 2 PIED-BILLED GREBES were seen at Powder Mill Pond in Hancock on September 21st and 22nd, and 2 were seen at Powwow Pond in Kingston on the 21st. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was seen in Sandwich on September 18th. A PHILADELPHIA VIREO, and a PINE SISKIN were reported from Pittsfield on September 24th. 2 WILSON’S WARBLERS were reported from Mill Pond Lane in Ashland on September 18th. 2 PALM WARBLERS, and a VESPER SPARROW were seen at the Concord Community Gardens on September 18th. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was reported from Hebron Marsh on Newfound Lake in Hebron on September 19th. Several migrating LINCOLN’S SPARROWS were reported from a few locations during the past week. Fall season RAPTOR migration is under way with migrating raptors being counted daily at hawk-watching sites. To date, the Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory in Peterborough has counted over 11,800 raptors, the Carter Hill Observatory in Concord has counted over 4,700 raptors, and hawk-watchers on Little Round Top in Bristol have seen over 2,000 raptors. Be sure to visit these viewing sites this fall season to help out with the counts! Pack Monadnock and Carter Hill will be staffed by NH Audubon through the end of October. Although peak flights of BROAD-WINGED HAWKS have mainly passed, there are still many more raptors to be counted. This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909. 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 ****************************************************************