New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 17, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* June 17, 2011
* NYNY1106.17

- Birds Mentioned:
Audubon's Shearwater+ (offshore)
FEA'S PETREL+ (offshore)
ARCTIC TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
CORY'S SHEARWATER
GREAT SHEARWATER
SOOTY SHEARWATER
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Glossy Ibis
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Red Knot
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Glaucous Gull
Roseate Tern
Royal Tern
Barred Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Acadian Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Common Raven
Hooded Warbler
Bobolink


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, June 17th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are ARCTIC TERN, CORY'S SHEARWATER, GREAT SHEARWATER, SOOTY SHEARWATER, a continuing influx of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and a well offshore report of FEA'S PETREL.

The season's first ARCTIC TERN, a first summer bird, showed up Thursday on the mud flats at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes. This is the site that has produced multiple Arctics the past few summers. The flats are north of the large parking lot at Cupsogue, and seem to be most productive on a rising tide. A visit generally requires wading through soft mudflats, which also entertained various other terns, and a selection of shorebirds. Coupled with nearby Pike's Beach, other birds present Thursday featured ROSEATE TERN, ROYAL TERN, over 50 RED KNOTS, 15 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS at Pike's, and various other shorebirds. This area is generally also decent for sea watching.

A morning sea watch from Robert Moses State Park field 2 last Saturday produced single CORY'S and GREAT SHEARWATER and two unidentified shearwaters, while a boat off Fire Island last Friday noted single SOOTY SHEARWATER and WILSON'S STORM-PETREL. Bigger pelagic news however comes from a research boat well out in the Atlantic. At a point just over 100 nautical miles south of Long Island in the vicinity of Hudson Canyon on Tuesday, a FEA'S PETREL was well seen. To be determined is which state it was in. Nearby were also four AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS with CORY'S and GREAT SHEARWATERS.

The number of immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS along the south shore of Long Island remains interestingly high. Reports this week mentioned seven at Jones Beach West End field 2, and three at Robert Moses State Park field 5 on Sunday, and five were at Pike's Beach on Thursday.

An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was encountered again at Connetquot River State Park on Sunday.

The Greenwich-Stamford summer bird count, including a good portion of Westchester County, was held last weekend, and in fairly poor weather managed an average 132 species. Highlights included 8 GLOSSY IBIS, interesting waterfowl including AMERICAN WIGEON, RING-NECKED DUCK, GREATER SCAUP, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, LONG-TAILED DUCK, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and a family of HOODED MERGANSERS. VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA and AMERICAN COOT were unusual, as were some lingering shorebirds, including a DUNLIN. A GLAUCOUS GULL was notable, and about a dozen BARRED OWLS were tallied. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was new for the count, bringing the all-time count species total to 239. Interesting passerines included 3 ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS, a pair of BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, 5 COMMON RAVEN, HOODED WARBLER, and BOBOLINK.

With breeding season made even more difficult for the birds due to the unseasonable weather we've been having, please remember to be very cautious and unobtrusive when visiting nesting sites.

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 ~