New York City Rare Bird Alert

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

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* July 9, 2010
* NYNY1007.09

- Birds Mentioned:

Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
CORY'S SHEARWATER
MANX SHEARWATER
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
'Western' Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
WHIMBREL
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
GULL-BILLED TERN
Roseate Tern
ROYAL TERN
Black Skimmer
Common Raven
Hermit Thrush
Blackpoll Warbler


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

~ Transcript ~

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

To report sightings over the next two weeks call:
Tony Lauro (631) 734-4126

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, July 9th, at 9:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are MANX SHEARWATER, CORY'S SHEARWATER, WHIMBREL, GULL-BILLED TERN, ROYAL TERN, and migrating shorebirds.

A sea watch off Robert Moses State Park parking field 2 early last Saturday morning featured a MANX SHEARWATER patrolling offshore for half an hour or more before moving west. Among a small assortment of shorebirds migrating by were two WHIMBREL, this all on northwest winds. By Monday the winds had shifted to a southerly component, producing a flight of CORY'S SHEARWATERS with about 14 seen off Moses field 2, virtually all before 8:30am.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the water level on the East Pond remains much too high for shorebirds, but unfortunately attractive to Mute Swans. Most of the southbound shorebirds have been appearing on the south shore of the West Pond, these recently including LESSER YELLOWLEGS and GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LEAST SANDPIPER, and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER. Terns around the West Pond have featured a GULL-BILLED TERN or two, often over the South Marsh, and an increasing number of BLACK SKIMMERS. Continuing herons included TRICOLORED HERON, LITTLE BLUE HERON, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, while among the ducks have been a few WOOD DUCKS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and a lingering GREATER SCAUP.

If you visit the Bay, please stop by the Visitors Center and remind them of what a valuable resource the drawn down East Pond is to the migrating shorebirds.

A BLACKPOLL WARBLER was still singing in Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan this morning, perhaps mistaking the surrounding buildings for a montane habitat.

In Roslyn up to six COMMON RAVENS including recent fledglings are still being seen around the tower adjacent to the Nassau County Art Museum.

Out at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes, no exotic terns have been seen recently on the flats, but there were two ROYAL TERNS last Monday with five ROSEATE TERNS also there. Like the numbers of Common and Least Terns, the numbers of migrant shorebirds have also been increasing there, including up to four WESTERN WILLETS on Sunday. Other arrivals included a peak of 60 LEAST SANDPIPERS Sunday, five SANDERLINGS Saturday, and numbers of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Two WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS have also been lingering there.

Among some interesting regionally breeding land birds were two HERMIT THRUSHES singing in Hunter's Garden off Route 51 in Eastport Saturday.

Remember to maintain a zero disturbance approach when visiting the nesting areas of sensitive species. It means a lot to them.

For the next two weeks Tony Lauro will be handling the Rare Bird Alert, so please call Tony with your reports at (631) 734-4126.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

[~END TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~