New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 9, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* April 9, 2010
* NYNY1004.09

- Birds Mentioned:

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE+
Common Murre+
Atlantic Puffin+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Blue-winged Teal
Harlequin Duck
Red-necked Grebe
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Glossy Ibis
Sandhill Crane (not reported this week)
Piping Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
UPLAND SANDPIPER
Least Sandpiper
RED PHALAROPE
Laughing Gull
Little Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Dovekie
Razorbill
Chimney Swift
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Louisiana Waterthrush
Boat-tailed Grackle

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc1 AT nybirds.org .

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY 14428

~ Transcript ~

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert Weekly Recording: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (during the day except Sunday)
Tony Lauro (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compilers: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Karen Fung

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, April 9th, at 11:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, RED PHALAROPE, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, UPLAND SANDPIPER, fishing trip results, and Spring migrants.

It began on Tuesday with a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE passing a hawk watch at Sandy Hook, NJ, the observers following the bird as it headed towards Coney Island. Then on Wednesday a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was observed soaring over Lake Montauk, eventually moving out of sight. This was followed by one late Thursday afternoon in Westchester County over Pines Bridge Road in the Yorktown/Millwood area. A free doughnut to anyone who finds a New York Swallow-tailed Kite that stays put in the same area for a while!

Other good seasonal finds this week have featured a winter-plumaged RED PHALAROPE that appeared at the south end of Sag Pond [aka Sagaponack Pond] at Bridgehampton this afternoon, where other shorebirds included seven GREATER YELLOWLEGS and five LESSER YELLOWLEGS; a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER seen briefly in Northport last Saturday; and an UPLAND SANDPIPER that stayed along the roadway between parking fields 4 and 5 at Robert Moses State Park from Monday to at least Thursday. Also quite notable was the collection of birds seen last Saturday from a fishing boat 28 miles south of Shinnecock Inlet. These included one or two LITTLE GULLS with some BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and a number of alcids including 100 RAZORBILLS, 3 COMMON MURRES, 5+ DOVEKIES, and 25+ ATLANTIC PUFFINS.

The previously reported CATTLE EGRET stayed along Route 27 just west of Hither Hills State Park in Montauk to Tuesday, but the SANDHILL CRANES in Bridgehampton were not seen after the 2nd, perhaps being the same two showing up on Block Island in Rhode Island.

Recent arrivals in the city parks, which effectively serve as our migration barometer, especially for passerines, have included in Central Park: BLUE-HEADED VIREO, WHITE-EYED VIREO, and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER Monday, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER Wednesday, and CHIMNEY SWIFT and an early NORTHERN PARULA Thursday. Prospect Park has had a similar mix, with a GNATCATCHER as of Sunday, three BLUE-WINGED TEAL on the Lake Tuesday, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER at two locations Wednesday, and some flyover GLOSSY IBIS on Wednesday. The Prospect Park ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, still by the Lullwater last Saturday, had relocated to the Nethermead Arch Sunday, and has probably moved on. Both parks, like many other sites, have also featured numbers of PINE WARBLERS, PALM WARBLERS, and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, arriving waterbirds have included LITTLE BLUE HERON, TRICOLORED HERON, GREEN HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, LEAST SANDPIPER, LAUGHING GULL, as well as some FORSTER'S TERNS as of Monday. FORSTER'S were also noted at Jones Beach West End Tuesday. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was also at Jones Beach West End Thursday, and among the many Northern Gannets, loons, and sea ducks moving along the south shore of Long Island lately were two RED-NECKED GREBES off Robert Moses State Park on Tuesday.

Back out East, an ICELAND GULL joined six PIPING PLOVERS at Mecox Sunday, while Sag Pond that day produced both Yellowlegs, LEAST SANDPIPER, one ICELAND GULL, two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and a BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE. Four BLUE-WINGED TEAL were at Hook Pond in East Hampton Tuesday, and two HARLEQUIN DUCKS were still at Montauk Point last Sunday.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or during the day except Sunday call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483. This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

[~END TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~