New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 3, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jun. 3, 2011
* NYNY1106.03

- Birds mentioned

WHITE IBIS+
BLACK-NECKED STILT+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

KING EIDER
Common Eider
Sooty Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
White-rumped Sandpiper
ICELAND GULL
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Black Tern
Roseate Tern
PARASITIC JAEGER
Acadian Flycatcher
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
SUMMER TANAGER
Grasshopper Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK

- 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, June 3rd 2011 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE IBIS, BLACK-NECKED STILT, BLUE GROSBEAK, SUMMER TANAGER, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, ICELAND GULL, KING EIDER and PARASITIC JAEGER.

Last Saturday morning the adult WHITE IBIS was again present at Great Kills Park on Staten Island. The bird was in the wet area on the south side of the entrance road along Buffalo Street just before the ranger's station. Due to the vegetation height the bird was actually not seen until it took flight after 8am and flew back further into the marsh nearer to the ranger's station. Unfortunately this area can only be viewed from the main roadway. This close parking lot is just across from the ranger's station.

On eastern Long Island two BLACK-NECKED STILTS were seen around Sebonac Inlet north of Southampton on Saturday and Sunday but apparently not there after. They were present with other shorebirds along Tern Island as viewed from across the inlet near the end of Sebonac Inlet Road.

In Brooklyn on Saturday a female BLUE GROSBEAK and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL were found at Calvert Vaux Park. With the recent influx of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the south shore was nicely documented on Wednesday. On a survey from Jones Beach West End to Robert Moses State Park found 28 LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS mostly all first year birds. The immature ICELAND GULL was also still at Jones Beach West End.

Spring migration in the city parks came to a rapid conclusion this week. As anticipated the later warblers included some MOURNING WARBLERS with sightings at Central Park up to Sunday at least and one at Floyd Bennett Field Saturday afternoon. Central Park also produced ACADIAN FLYCATCHER Wednesday, WILSON'S WARBLER Monday and a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH or two. But it seems this somewhat disappointing migration locally ended with a whimper.

WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were still among the shorebirds at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last Saturday.

At Connetquot River State Park a predawn survey there today astonishingly produced no Whip-poor-wills with highlights featuring ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and HOODED WARBLER.

Last Monday three WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS were off Democrat Point at the western end of Fire Island.

Further east a good number of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and other grassland birds are currently using the Calverton Grasslands at the former Grumman Airport amply demonstrating why this regional habitat should be preserved.

A BLUE GROSBEAK at the DEC bike trail off Route 51 southwest of Riverhead Saturday and Sunday tended to be quite elusive.

And please remember to keep disturbance to an absolute minimum when visiting nesting areas especially of our very localized and rarer breeding species. Speaking of which a SUMMER TANAGER in East Hampton Sunday and Monday is hopefully on territory.

At Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes shorebirds today included an influx of about 450 RUDDY TURNSTONES and some non-breeding species that presumably may summer there, 134 RED KNOT were counted there Monday. BLACK TERN was on the flats at Cupsogue to Monday and a small number of ROSEATE TERNS can also be found on the bars there.

At Montauk Point Sunday possibly the same PARASITIC JAEGER and SOOTY SHEARWATER were seen repeatedly off the point. Well over 50 COMMON EIDER were also still there. But more interesting were two drake KING EIDERS seen Tuesday and Wednesday with 2 dozen Common Eiders off the rocks at the end of Rocky Point Road in East Marion way out on the North Fork.

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