New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 10, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jun. 10, 2011
* NYNY1106.10

- Birds mentioned

Ruddy Turnstone
White-rumped Sandpiper
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
GULL-BILLED TERN
Roseate Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW
Acadian Flycatcher
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
SUMMER TANAGER
Vesper Sparrow
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 10th 2011 at 10pm. The highlights of today's tape are YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, GULL-BILLED TERN and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

As we move into nesting season some interesting species on territory locally have raised concerns as to the safety of their selected areas and how prone to disturbance these birds might be.

The YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, singing recently at Connetquot River State Park, would certainly provide an excellent Long Island record if found to be breeding.

Documentation of any nesting success of the pair of SUMMER TANAGERS present in East Hampton would also be very noteworthy so we need to very aware that these rare regional breeders need to be protected and certainly not harassed. Territorial birds can be observed without causing disturbance, including tape usage, so please remember that when visiting sites where rarities are present.

This would also include KENTUCKY WARBLER on territory again at the Rockefeller Preserve in central Westchester and other very localized nesters such as VESPER SPARROW, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and BLUE GROSBEAK. At Rockefeller Preserve maps to the park are available at the main parking lot.

Other interesting birds at Connetquot River State Park recently have included ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and HOODED WARBLER as well as YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.

Another sparse nester, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, has not been showing up well this year so a welcome report was of four singing birds heard at mid Fire Island in the vicinity of Sunken Forest State Park on Wednesday.

Also notable was a GULL-BILLED TERN at the Black Skimmer / Least Tern breeding area at Nickerson Beach just west of Point Lookout on Thursday.

Democrat Point, at the western tip of Fire Island Thursday, at least six LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were still present all in immature plumage mostly first year. Four ROSEATE TERNS were also present.

Shorebirds out on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes continue to change over as most of the breeding adults have pushed on. Lots of RUDDY TURNSTONES moved through last Sunday and a few WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS today plus various non-breeding shorebirds have recently arrived but no very unusual terns have yet been spotted. Some ROSEATE TERNS still continue there. A large number of dolphins appeared offshore there last Sunday hopefully signaling the imminent arrival of interesting seabirds.

In Central Park recently migrants were mostly memories. Not unexpectedly MOURNING WARBLER was noted early in the week while the last SUMMER TANAGER report came from back on the 3rd. We have no information on the SUMMER TANAGER reported in the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx last Saturday.

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