New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 30, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 30, 2010
* NYNY1004.30

- Birds mentioned

WHITE-FACED IBIS+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Blue-winged Teal
Black Vulture
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Razorbill
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Veery
Wood Thrush
Blue-winged Warbler
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Lincoln's Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Boat-tailed Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole

- Transcript

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 nysarc3 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

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

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

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, April 30th 2010 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE-FACED IBIS, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and an influx of Spring migrants.

A WHITE-FACED IBIS was found Monday morning at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge appearing with Glossy Ibis in the marsh south of the West Pond and a little east of the Osprey platform. The ibis was seen again Tuesday and Wednesday in roughly the same location but it can be rather difficult to locate depending on how many ibis are present and how deeply they are foraging into the channels in the marsh. On Friday a BLACK VULTURE was seen flying over Jamaica Bay but there was no sign of the White-faced Ibis.

In Central Park a male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER appeared Monday along the south side of Turtle Pond and was still at the same location at least to Thursday but we have not heard any further definitive reports from today.

Interestingly, 2 more spring ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were reported last Saturday, 1 at the north end of Central Park and the other in Forest Park Queens. These were followed by what was probably the same lingering ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in Prospect Park near Terrace Bridge on Thursday.

Otherwise, during the week, things progressed perhaps more slowly than desired due in large part to an uncooperative weather system.

Among the interesting arrivals through Thursday were such warblers as BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, YELLOW WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, PRAIRIE WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and AMERICAN REDSTART. One or two WORM-EATING WARBLERS were also noted and non-warblers included 4 BOBOLINKS in Prospect Park on Tuesday. GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, RED-EYED VIREO, WARBLING VIREO and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK on Wednesday and both BALTIMORE ORIOLE, ORCHARD ORIOLE and WOOD THRUSH Thursday and 1 or 2 EASTERN KINGBIRDS have also appeared.

The system finally turned somewhat Thursday night and Friday produced the first real influx of passerines into the city parks as both numbers and variety increased. The warbler total for the week rose to over 20 with MAGNOLIA WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER arriving. HOODED WARBLERS were seen Friday in Central Park and in Riverside Park on northern Manhattan and a CERULEAN WARBLER was reported from Prospect Park while YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, VEERY and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were also encountered.

On Staten Island a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was noted at Willowbrook Park and late LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES were still occurring at various sites.

SOLITARY SANDPIPER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER visited Turtle Pond in Central Park and decent numbers of birds were noted as well in Forest Park and Alley Pond Park.

In the Jones Beach area a GULL-BILLED TERN was spotted today sitting on the barge adjacent to the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station and 3 BLUE-WINGED TEAL were still on the pond off Bay Parkway just west of Jones Beach field 10 last Sunday. Seven COMMON TERNS were off Robert Moses State Park this morning.

Farther east on Long Island last Saturday single LEAST SANDPIPER and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS joined a CASPIAN TERN on the flats at Mecox.

A seawatch Sunday off Main Beach in East Hampton still produced 16 RAZORBILLS and up to 7 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were on Wainscot Pond last weekend.

Another CASPIAN TERN was at Pike's Beach in Westhampton Dunes Saturday.

Unusual for Westchester County, a male BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE was singing, if you can call it that, in the marsh at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye on Thursday.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or on weekdays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

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