New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending May 21, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May. 21, 2010
* NYNY1005.21

- Birds mentioned

WHITE-FACED IBIS+
WILSON'S PLOVER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Virginia Rail
Solitary Sandpiper
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
Roseate Tern
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-billed Cuckoo
Chuck-will's-widow
Whip-poor-will
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Tennessee Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
SUMMER TANAGER
Clay-colored Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Fox Sparrow ("Sooty" subspecies - not seen)
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
Bobolink

- 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, May 21st 2010 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are WILSON'S PLOVER, WHITE-FACED IBIS, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and lots of migrants.

A female type WILSON'S PLOVER found at Jones Beach West End on May 8th but not seen during the intervening week was relocated late Saturday afternoon again in the swale between the concession building and the ocean at the west end parking lot #2. The swale was much drier than the previous week but the plover did come in at high tide along with other shorebirds mostly Semipalmated Plovers. There again have been no reports during the week. A VIRGINIA RAIL was calling just west of the swale Saturday evening.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge what was presumably the same WHITE-FACED IBIS was seen last Saturday morning at about 8:30a and then reappeared again at 9:15a in the northeast corner of the West Pond. The ibis was seen again on Sunday morning and again today with sightings both at the northeast corner and in the south marsh near bench #1. Also today a WILSON'S PHALAROPE appeared at the north end of the West Pond and a SUMMER TANAGER was also seen near bench #12.

As a note, the "Sooty" FOX SPARROW was last seen in Central Park last Friday.

A migratory movement last Friday night that was interrupted by a wind shift to the northwest still dropped a good number of migrants into the city parks for Saturday as well as producing an interesting reorientation flight along the ocean coast as birds struggled in off the water while fighting the contrary winds. Thousands of migrants were moving west along the barrier beaches presumably glad to have made it ashore.

A count Saturday morning at Robert Moses State Park among 20 species of warblers tallied 110 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, 70 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS and 33 CANADA WARBLERS among the identifiable birds. Also seen were 5 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, ALDER FLYCATCHER, PURPLE MARTIN and 9 CLIFF SWALLOWS. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER also ended up at Jones Beach West End.

Some of this flight was also noted in Prospect Park, sightings including 9 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and CLIFF SWALLOW. Overall highlights from Prospect Park last weekend featured 2 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER on Sunday ... and at least 22 species of warblers with TENNESSEE WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, and 3 MOURNING WARBLERS on Sunday.

Forest Park too over the weekend featured 2 plus YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, SUMMER TANAGER at the waterhole and an immature male BLUE GROSBEAK nearby on Saturday and over 20 species of warblers including multiple MOURNING WARBLERS both days and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT Saturday.

Another SUMMER TANAGER and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH and a good variety of warblers were found at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx on Saturday.

Central Park also produced SUMMER TANAGER Thursday at Strawberry Fields and warblers reported during the week included KENTUCKY WARBLER Monday and MOURNING WARBLER on several days and other birds included OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER Saturday, an uncommon species noted in most other parks too such as GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

A most unexpected sparrow was found Sunday at Calvert Vaux Park in Brooklyn this a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW that was also joined there by a male BLUE GROSBEAK and 7 BOBOLINKS.

Among other sites noting MOURNING WARBLERS included Riverside Park in northern Manhattan on Monday and Quogue Wildlife Refuge last Saturday this species is actually a regular later migration species but its tendency to stay under cover makes knowing its song and distinctive chip note quite useful.

A seawatch Wednesday off Robert Moses State Park produced an adult PARASITIC JAEGER as well as a few ROSEATE TERNS and a BLUE GROSBEAK was still around the Moses parking field 2.

Out east birds having arrived by last Saturday included CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW and WHIP-POOR-WILL, ROSEATE TERNS and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. On Sunday at Camp Hero in Montauk a young male BLUE GROSBEAK was present and a BLACK VULTURE joined 9 TURKEY VULTURES and 9 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS as they soared over Montauk.

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