New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 2, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep 2, 2011
* NYNY1109.02

- Birds Mentioned:

BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL+
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL+
WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD+
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
Brown Pelican
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD+
WHITE IBIS+
American Golden-Plover
BLACK-NECKED STILT+
American Avocet
Whimbrel
Hudsonian Godwit
Marbled Godwit
Baird's Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
SOOTY TERN+
BRIDLED TERN+
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
SANDWICH TERN+
SOUTH POLAR SKUA+
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
LONG-TAILED JAEGER+
Yellow-throated Warbler
Lark Sparrow

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, 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

~ Transcript ~

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Weekly Recording: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483
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, September 2nd, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are numerous, thanks to Hurricane Irene.

Though the storm produced an unfortunate amount of inconvenience and destruction for many, from a birding standpoint one can only say "WOW!!". It was unprecedented in the number and variety of displaced birds that were concentrated in the New York area, these occurring almost entirely during the storm's passage on Sunday and almost all gone by Monday.

Top prize probably goes to WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD, with at least five or six in New York. What may have been the same adult was seen over the Hudson River from W.70th Street in Manhattan, and then photographed off W.23rd Street. An immature was also reported moving south from W.180th Street where it was first spotted. Another adult was nicely photographed moving west over Point Lookout in the direction of where one was found deceased on Rockaway Beach. Another dead Tropicbird on the North Fork in East Marion is on its way to the American Museum of Natural History for positive identification. Most unexpected among these sightings was a White-tailed found way up the Hudson River in Stephentown, Rensselaer County, this bird unfortunately passing away at a rehabilitator's.

Also up the Hudson River was the storm's only MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD, a female-type seen in the town of Hudson, Columbia County, on Sunday.

Another superlative bird was a BLACK-CAPPED PETREL, spotted and photographed Sunday afternoon as it soared back and forth over Mecox Bay. Though it seemed to settle in on the Bay, it was not seen Monday morning.

Unlike the above, both BRIDLED TERNS and SOOTY TERNS were quite widespread along coastal areas, providing good opportunities for birders venturing out and able to find shore vantage points to see and appreciate the identification pitfalls in separating these two species. An incomplete tally shows about 56 BRIDLED and 25 SOOTY TERNS ranging from the Hudson River up to the Tappan Zee Bridge, along the Brooklyn shoreline, into western Long Island Sound, and around Long Island inlets from Jones out to Montauk -- an unprecedented showing for these two species.

SANDWICH TERNS were also quite widespread, with many remaining Monday, and a few later, in tern and gull gatherings. While the Sootys had pulled out altogether by Monday, only two Bridleds were seen early Monday off Brooklyn.

BLACK TERNS were abundant, as were ROYAL TERNS, and some GULL-BILLED TERNS and CASPIAN TERNS were also present.

Storm-Petrels were also noted, with WILSON'S STORM-PETREL the most common, and at least 19 LEACH'S STORM-PETREL also present, from the Hudson River in Brooklyn to Jones Beach and way out to Montauk. Also reported were three BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS from Jones Beach West End, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound, this a difficult identification separation from Leach's Storm-Petrel under the given viewing conditions.

Four SOUTH POLAR SKUAS were seen: one sitting in the Jones Beach West End #2 parking lot; one rescued on a Sea Cliff Beach and released the next morning; and two flying together over Hook Pond in East Hampton.

Jaegers featured an immature LONG-TAILED JAEGER at Playland Park in Rye, a POMARINE JAEGER in Hook Pond, and at least 11 PARASITIC JAEGERS.

Shearwater numbers were unexpectedly low, given the above, but over 200 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were reported during the storm, moving by various points, usually in flocks.

Other Sunday oddities featured a BLACK-NECKED STILT in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County; an AMERICAN AVOCET at Jones Beach West End, and a BROWN PELICAN on Lake Montauk. Speaking of pelicans, two Browns were still at Lake Montauk on the east jetty today, and other singles during the week were at Patchogue Monday, at Nickerson Beach and at Southampton Tuesday, at Jones Beach West End and at Tiana Beach (Dune Road, Westhampton) Wednesday, and at Great Gull Island Monday and today, while an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was reported in East Hampton Thursday.

This morning an immature WHITE IBIS was found at Sagaponack on a field south of Bridge Lane on the east side of the bridge. It was still there in the late afternoon, but had vanished by early evening.

Among the shorebirds, up to 14 MARBLED GODWITS have been at Cupsogue, with others about, and the peak for HUDSONIAN GODWIT was ten at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on Sunday. Some WHIMBREL continue, and BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, and AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER are currently being found at appropriate locations.

The only passerines we have time to mention are a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER found Monday at the Roosevelt Third House County Park in Montauk, and a LARK SPARROW at Robert Moses State Park, East End, 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 ~