New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 9, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep 9, 2011
* NYNY1109.09

- Birds Mentioned:

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
BROWN PELICAN
WHITE IBIS+
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
Hudsonian Godwit
Marbled Godwit
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope [Orange County]
Red Phalarope [Orange County]
Lesser Black-backed Gull
BRIDLED TERN+
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
SANDWICH TERN+
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN WHEATEAR+
Gray-cheeked Thrush
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL
Purple Finch

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 9th, at 8:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are NORTHERN WHEATEAR, WHITE IBIS, BRIDLED TERN, SANDWICH TERN, BROWN PELICAN, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, many shorebirds, DICKCISSEL, and CLAY-COLORED and LARK SPARROWS.

Though not of hurricane caliber but still an exciting week regionally, quite pleasing was the fairly accommodating NORTHERN WHEATEAR, found Tuesday by the Croton train station in Westchester County and still present there through Thursday, but we have no reports from today. The bird was initially near the boat launch area at the south end of the Croton station parking lot, but spent much time along the railroad tracks on the other side of the chain-linked fence.

A couple of WHITE IBIS were seen during the week: an immature found last Friday off Bridge Lane in Sagoponack was present through Sunday, and an adult was spotted flying east Tuesday along Dune Road, west of Shinnecock Inlet near Triton Lane.

A holdover from Hurricane Irene was an immature BRIDLED TERN found deceased as it floated in Montauk Harbor last Sunday.

A few live SANDWICH TERNS do continue, with two at the east end of Shinnecock Bay Saturday, one at Cupsogue County Park Sunday, and one on the Mecox flats on Monday.

A few BROWN PELICANS continue to be seen on Long Island: the immature, often on the Montauk Harbor jetties, was present to Monday, when three were spotted flying east past Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton. Another was on the bar at Shinnecock Inlet last Saturday, this followed by one flying over Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes on Sunday.

Two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, probably present at Jamaica Bay since September 1st or earlier, were seen in flight Saturday, from the subway east of the East Pond Sunday, and then on Monday from a boat in the bay, east of the subway line and the East Pond. The birds were feeding along the bay edge, in the area approximately even with the midpoint of the East Pond, thus making it difficult for land-bound birders to see. A possibility might be to walk around from the north end at the Broad Channel Bridge parking lot.

An HUDSONIAN GODWIT was in the bay by the parking lot there on Monday. Other godwits have included singles of HUDSONIAN GODWIT and MARBLED GODWIT with three CASPIAN TERNS at Jones Beach West End today; two MARBLED at Shinnecock Satuday, and up to 11 MARBLEDS still at Cupsogue on Sunday.

Two WHIMBRELS were on the Route 105 fields in Centerport Monday.

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS have featured one at Cupsogue briefly on Sunday, two on Eastport Manor Road with an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER Sunday, and one at Heckscher County Park to Tuesday, with WHIMBREL and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL also at Heckscher Monday, and AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER there Tuesday. A WHIMBREL plus two CASPIAN TERNS and two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at Robert Moses State Park Wednesday.

Three AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were at the Jones Beach West End #2 parking lot on Wednesday.

A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at Mecox Bay Sunday and Monday.

Among CASPIAN TERNS, five were at Cupsogue Saturday, and one or two have been at Mecox.

An amazing 631 BLACK TERNS were counted Sunday afternoon between Accabonac Harbor Inlet and Napeague Harbor.

Among the land birds, an adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has been present in Central Park since Wednesday, and a DICKCISSEL as well as a PURPLE FINCH flew by Robert Moses State Park this morning.

A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was spotted at the Pike's Beach birding platform last Sunday, and single LARK SPARROWS were found at Conference House Park on Staten Island on Monday and at the Jones Beach West End Nature Center on Thursday.

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH was identified at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island today.

A bonanza of shorebirds up in the Black Dirt Region of Orange County recently has featured a RED PHALAROPE Wednesday and Thursday, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE Thursday, WHIMBREL, and an estimated 250 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS.

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 ~