New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 16, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* April 16, 2010
* NYNY1004.16

- Birds Mentioned:

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

HARLEQUIN DUCK
Horned Grebe
Northern Gannet
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Glossy Ibis
Bald Eagle
UPLAND SANDPIPER
HUDSONIAN GODWIT (Orange County)
Pectoral Sandpiper
GLAUCOUS GULL
Forster's Tern
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Purple Martin
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Indigo Bunting
Baltimore Oriole

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 (weekdays)
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 16th, at 6:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, UPLAND SANDPIPER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, and GLAUCOUS GULL.

Ah, the doldrums. Each year at this time, the improving weather, even if in spurts, holds out hopes of increasing numbers of migrants that usually produce less than we anticipate, leaving birders wanting more. And they WILL come!

One surprise this week was a male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD photographed late last Monday afternoon at Mount Loretto Park. This park is off Hylan Boulevard on southern Staten Island, but we are not aware of any additional sightings. Also on Staten Island, three PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were with other shorebirds on the Goethals Bridge pond last Saturday.

Another interesting passerine was a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER noted Thursday at Fuchs Pond off Waterside Road in Northport. The bird was seen again this afternnon, along the south shore of the smaller pond that is northeast of the main one. [Transcriber's Note: The nearest parking can be found by typing in 40.916971,-73.332163 at http://maps.google.com. Google's satellite view of this area will reveal the ponds in question. Thanks to DK, JO and BB for their assistance.]

Other passerines arriving across this area have featured some BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, PINE WARBLERS, PALM WARBLERS, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BROWN THRASHERS, HERMIT THRUSHES, WINTER WRENS, and other such species expected in mid-April, plus, as usual, were a small number of WHITE-EYED VIREOS and BLUE-HEADED VIREOS. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen in the Bronx Botanical Garden on Saturday.

Another lingering ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in Prospect Park was seen again today on the east side of the Lullwater between Terrace Bridge and Boathouse Bridge. And Central Park has added a few new arrivals during the week, with BALTIMORE ORIOLE on Monday, WORM-EATING WARBLER Thursday, and INDIGO BUNTING today, with a couple of EASTERN KINGBIRDS and CHIMNEY SWIFTS also seen.

LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES were on territory in Sterling Forest north of the city as of last Sunday.

Unexpected at Jamaica Wildlife Refuge was a GREAT HORNED OWL in the North Garden last Sunday, whereas waterbirds arriving on schedule have included TRICOLORED HERON, LITTLE BLUE HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, and FORSTER'S TERN. And good numbers of HORNED GREBES, many in full breeding plumage, were still in the Bay south of the West Pond on Wednesday.

Good numbers of NORTHERN GANNETS continue to move along the south shore of Long Island, as evidenced by the 1600 around Breezy Point and moving into New York Bay on Wednesday, and an estimated 2200 between Breezy Point and Coney Island today.

Seven HARLEQUIN DUCKS were still around the jetty at Jones Beach West End on Thursday, and the UPLAND SANDPIPER continued near parking field 5 at Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island at least to Sunday.

Out East, on the North Fork a GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted at Breakwater Beach in Mattituck on Saturday, and on the South Fork an immature BALD EAGLE and a PURPLE MARTIN appeared at Long Pond in Sag Harbor on Sunday.

Perhaps the week's most unusual find however was up in Orange County, where a breeding-plumaged HUDSONIAN GODWIT was discovered late last Saturday afternoon at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. The godwit was still present Sunday morning along the west side of the Liberty Loop Trail, accessed from the parking lot on Oil City Road, but this bird and four yellowlegs accompanying it were flushed by a hunting Peregrine Falcon and flew south into New Jersey. [A map of this area can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/wallkillriver/refuge%20map.htm]

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or weekdays 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 Transcript ~