New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 24, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep. 24, 2010
* NYNY1009.24

- Birds mentioned

BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER+
WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL+
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL+
YELLOW RAIL+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

MANX SHEARWATER
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
White-rumped Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Philadelphia Vireo
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dickcissel
Purple Finch

- 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, September 24th 2010 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are YELLOW RAIL, WESTERN KINGBIRD, MANX SHEARWATER, other Fall migrants and some great pelagics.

Firstly, my deepest thanks to Tony Lauro for covering the RBA for the last 2 months.

Another week with a nice variety of overall migrants has been spoiled somewhat by this warm weather but another cold front is on its way.

The biggest surprise of the past week was a YELLOW RAIL spotted along a causeway entrance to Iona Island in Rockland County. Within just a few feet from the observers car the rail walked into the vegetation and disappeared.

Also seen only for short durations were 3 WESTERN KINGBIRDS on Long Island last Saturday. One was present at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton keeping company with a nice variety of birds while a second was at a more traditional site at the Deep Hollow Dude Ranch just east of the town of Montauk. Neither of these could be relocated on Sunday but on Monday another WESTERN KINGBIRD appeared briefly around the hawkwatch platform at the eastern end of Robert Moses State Park.

Pelagic birds from shore have been scarce lately but a MANX SHEARWATER was seen off Robert Moses State Park field 2 last Saturday. However, 2 boat trips early in September featured some great New York birds. Pelagics from Rhode Island to the Block Canyon area on the 10th recorded both a BLACK-CAPPED PETREL and a BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL while a fishing boat from Montauk on the 11th at the same area encountered a WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL plus RED PHALAROPE and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE along with AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS.

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS continued a good showing this Fall. Of the 4 present late last week on the field around the Aviator's Building at Floyd Bennett Field, 3 were still there on Sunday. Also there on Sunday was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at the community garden, a good place to look for sparrows and other odd landbirds.

Another BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER offered great views Saturday to Monday along the eastern exit road to Jones Beach West End field 2 and another CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was at the volleyball courts east of Robert Moses State Park field 2 today.

Good flight conditions early in the week brought a decent selection of landbirds to many city parks. Highlights from Central Park included YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and HOODED WARBLER Wednesday among a seasonally representative number of warblers. Even Bryant Park in central Manhattan enjoyed a nice run of migrants with Tuesday producing 9 species of warblers and LINCOLN'S SPARROW, the latter now rather widespread throughout our area.

A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was present again in Alley Pond Park on Thursday and last Saturday 2 DICKCISSELS were found in the rock piles at Hempstead Town Park at Point Lookout.

Five AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were in a parking lot puddle at Heckscher State Park today.

Among the migrants at Sunken Meadow State Park have been some flocks of PURPLE FINCHES, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO Sunday and an arriving WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW Thursday.

Farther east on Long Island there were 10 CASPIAN TERNS, WHIMBREL, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL Saturday and 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS Sunday at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton while Mecox produced 4 more CASPIAN TERNS and a flyby group of 4 MARBLED GODWITS. Nine ROYAL TERNS were also around the Ponquogue Bridge at Shinnecock Saturday.

Highlights at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye last Sunday featured DICKCISSEL and MOURNING WARBLER.

The past week was a productive one for local hawkwatches with a BROAD-WINGED HAWK flight fairly widespread this year brought some good kettles over inland sights usually with accompanying BALD EAGLES.

Sites to visit though October and into November include Hook Mountain in Rockland County, the Quaker Ridge Hawkwatch at the Greenwich Audubon Center in northwestern Greenwich, the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Butler Sanctuary in Mount Kisco and Mount Peter in Orange County. Of course, if you really want to see falcons especially visit the Fire Island site at the eastern end of the roadway at Robert Moses State Park.

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