New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 29, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* April 29, 2011
* NYNY1104.29

- Birds Mentioned:

WHITE IBIS+
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE+
VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Sooty Shearwater
Green Heron
Semipalmated Plover
Solitary Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Iceland Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Skimmer
Razorbill
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Whip-poor-will
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Prairie Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
American Redstart
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler
SUMMER TANAGER
Scarlet Tanager
Seaside Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
BLUE GROSBEAK
Indigo Bunting
Orchard Oriole
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, hard copy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hard copy 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

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 29th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, WHITE IBIS, VARIED THRUSH, YELLOW-THROATED and PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, and lots of spring migrants.

A decent weekend and good early season influx of birds Monday and Tuesday was followed by decreasing numbers Wednesday and Thursday, but a refreshing movement today into some city parks. Local breeders are already settling into their territories, but many more migrants are due.

Two nice rarities appeared recently on Monday. This year's winner of the "Who will be the single lucky person to spot the SWALLOW-TAILED KITE?" contest happened to be near field 2 at Robert Moses State Park Monday when a kite flew by, headed west over the dunes. Searchers along the Jones strip could not relocate it later in the day. Then Monday afternoon an adult WHITE IBIS was spotted flying into Mount Loretto Preserve off Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island. Those arriving there before dark got to enjoy the ibis, but it was not seen thereafter.

The Central Park VARIED THRUSH was still around the 79th Street park transverse up to Tuesday, but may have departed. More attention was paid to the YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER first spotted Monday near Turtle Pond, and noted Thursday near the northwestern side of the Lake called the Upper Lobe. A good variety of warblers in Central early in the week and today featured an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER Tuesday, plus BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, PRAIRIE WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER today, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, WORM-EATING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, and CANADA WARBLER. Among other arrivals noted in Central and other parks recently have been GREEN HERON, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, EASTERN KINGBIRD, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, WHITE-EYED VIREO, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, WARBLING VIREO, and RED-EYED VIREO, HOUSE WREN, VEERY, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, WOOD THRUSH, BROWN THRASHER, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, ORCHARD ORIOLE, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE. More unexpected in Central Park was a SEASIDE SPARROW up at the north end on Thursday; this sparrow could not be relocated today, but a singing CERULEAN WARBLER was present in the Ramble today. Look for the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER south of the Sheep Meadow.

Prospect Park also had an exciting week, with many of the above species noted, plus BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO today. Warbler highlights there have included a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER from last Sunday, with at least two on Tuesday, one continuing to today at the compost pile near the Tunnel Arch, and two TENNESSEE WARBLERS and a CAPE MAY WARBLER today. A SUMMER TANAGER was also at the Vale of Cashmere on Wednesday.

In Queens, an immature male BLUE GROSBEAK was at Lutheran Cemetery on Tuesday and Wednesday, while a female CERULEAN WARBLER was identified at Hempstead Lake State Park on Wednesday.

At Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island, the previously reported YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was present at least to Tuesday, along with a nice assortment of migrants including an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER Sunday.

To fill in the impressive number of YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS appearing this spring, one was seen again Sunday at Connetquot River State Park, below the fish hatchery. Another on Sunday was found at the Graves Estate in East Hampton, and back on the 19th a YELLOW-THROATED was at Larchmont Reservoir in Westchester County.

A HOODED WARBLER was at Southards Pond in Babylon on Monday.

Three BLACK SKIMMERS appeared in Brooklyn Thursday, and last Sunday a GULL-BILLED TERN appeared at Jones Beach West End, and two were seen hunting in the dunes there today.

An immature ICELAND GULL was at West End field 2 on Sunday, with four SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS in the swale there.

A young male SUMMER TANAGER was found Sunday at Sterling Lake in Greenport, on the North Fork, and another PROTHONOTARY WARBLER appeared at Arshamomaque Preserve in Southold last Saturday.

WHIP-POOR-WILLS have been heard since last Friday in appropriate eastern Long Island habitats.

A Southampton sea watch last Saturday morning noted one SOOTY SHEARWATER and five RAZORBILLS, and single CASPIAN TERNS were at Mecox Bay and Sag Pond. Three LEAST SANDPIPERS were also there, and a SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was at Sag on Monday.

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 TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~