New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending September 30, 2011

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep 30, 2011
* NYNY1109.30

- Birds Mentioned:

MISSISSIPPI KITE+
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cory's Shearwater
BROWN PELICAN
Peregrine Falcon
American Golden-Plover
Piping Plover
Marbled Godwit
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
BARRED OWL
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Philadelphia Vireo
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
SUMMER TANAGER
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL


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 30th, at 8:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are BROWN PELICAN, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, MISSISSIPPI KITE, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, CONNECTICUT WARBLER, LARK SPARROW, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL, and much more, including a BARRED OWL in Central Park.

An immature BROWN PELICAN was seen again at Montauk Harbor Inlet, this one on the west jetty last Saturday morning.

Another interesting report from eastern Long Island was of an immature male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD in the picnic area at Smith Point County Park in Shirley on Monday.

Equally unexpected was a MISSISSIPPI KITE reported moving over Strawberry Fields in Central Park quite early last Sunday morning.

Two other land birds not often seen at this time of year were a male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER found in Mecox last Sunday and a SUMMER TANAGER at Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island on Tuesday.

Also very unusual was the appearance of a BARRED OWL today in the Central Park Ramble, near the southwest corner of Mugger's Woods.

Otherwise there was a nice variety of more expected birds this week. A decent collection in Central Park last Sunday included OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, a good total of warblers with HOODED WARBLER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, a BLUE GROSBEAK and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW. A CHAT was also seen in Central on Thursday. Prospect Park added PHILADELPHIA VIREO Sunday and a CONNECTICUT WARBLER both Sunday and Friday, with today's on Lookout Hill.

Another CONNECTICUT WARBLER was in the New York Botanical Garden last Sunday, but it was perhaps Kissena Park in Queens that produced the best assortment. On Saturday, found were two PHILADELPHIA VIREOS, a CONNECTICUT WARBLER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, and BLUE GROSBEAK, and birders gathering there Sunday were treated to the CONNECTICUT WARBLER along with MOURNING WARBLER and a variety of other warblers, and a LARK SPARROW joining the CLAY-COLORED and the BLUE GROSBEAK. The grosbeak lingered at least to Tuesday, joined by two LARK SPARROWS. Both BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, but mostly YELLOW-BILLED, have also been occurring in the parks.

Two NORTHERN RAVENS provided the only excitement in Alley Pond Park last Sunday.

On Thursday in Brooklyn, two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were spotted at Floyd Bennett Field, another at Dead Horse Bay, and a DICKCISSEL was noted at Floyd Bennett in the Community Garden on Tuesday.

Saturday at Conference House Park on Staten Island were a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

Out at Jones Beach West End, two BLUE GROSBEAKS were along the outer turnaround, and two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were on the Coast Guard Station sandbar last Saturday. Birds on that bar today included a MARBLED GODWIT and CASPIAN TERN.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was also seen at Robert Moses State Park last Saturday as well as today, and offshore there on Saturday were a CORY'S SHEARWATER and nine ROYAL TERNS.

Moving east on Long Island, birds at Smith Point County Park last Saturday featured a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and five CASPIAN TERNS.

Mecox, besides the PROTHONOTARY WARBLER last Sunday, also produced three CASPIAN TERNS, 104 BLACK SKIMMERS, and two lingering PIPING PLOVERS, with two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and four PEREGRINE FALCONS there on Monday. Four CASPIAN TERNS were at Mecox Tuesday, with two more at Georgica Pond.

At Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton, shorebirds included two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER Monday, following a STILT SANDPIPER and two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS there on Sunday.

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 ~