New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 27, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* April 27, 2012
* NYNY1204.27

- Birds Mentioned:
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD+
WHITE-FACED IBIS+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cattle Egret
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
UPLAND SANDPIPER
Red Knot
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
Caspian Tern
Black Skimmer
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Veery
Wood Thrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Prairie Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
BLUE GROSBEAK
Indigo Bunting
Baltimore Oriole
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@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 (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, April 27th at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD, WHITE-FACED IBIS, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK, GULL-BILLED TERN, and UPLAND SANDPIPER.

A good spring week, thanks in part to a material storm that swept a decent number of migrants up the coast with it. A few rarities also appeared, certainly topped by the report of a male MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD seen midday Monday from Montauk Point, the bird working its way west along the north shore of the Point. Some damage to the right tip of the forked tail could identify this individual should it be seen elsewhere, but there have been no subsequent sightings yet.

Another good bird locally was an adult WHITE-FACED IBIS initially spotted at the south end of the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Tuesday afternoon, and seen again there on Wednesday morning. The ibis appeared with a number of Glossy Ibis near Bench 7. In recent years when a White-faced has been visiting Jamaica Bay, besides this location one has also been seen in the marsh south of the West Pond or along the West Pond shore at the north end, or in the adjacent marsh north of the West Pond. The ibises usually feed in the marshes and come into the pond periodically to bathe and drink.

Some good activity began last Saturday in Central Park with a finding of a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER and a nearby female BLUE GROSBEAK at the north end. Other warblers noted that day included a continuing ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the north end, and CAPE MAY WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLER, and HOODED WARBLER. During the week, additional warblers appearing there featured BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, a CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER today, more PRAIRIE WARBLERS and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, an AMERICAN REDSTART today, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and another highlight: a KENTUCKY WARBLER found just west of the Shakespeare Garden today. Other notables this week in Central have included SOLITARY SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER since Monday, EASTERN KINGBIRD, four species of vireos including YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, VEERY, WOOD THRUSH, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, BALTIMORE ORIOLE, and a few PURPLE FINCHES.

Prospect Park has also had a couple of surprises, especially the UPLAND SANDPIPER visiting Long Meadow early on Wednesday morning. WILSON'S SNIPE was also there Wednesday, and among the various warblers reported was an early CERULEAN WARBLER on Thursday.

In Bryant Park, a male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER found Monday was still being reported today. The bird feeds in the trees surrounding the green, behind the New York Public Library just below 42nd Street, east of 6th Avenue. It circulates about the park, occasionally coming down lower. A few other species of warblers and WOOD THRUSH have also been seen there.

The Sunday-Monday storm dropped a few BLUE GROSBEAKS and other birds along the south shore of Long Island. A BLUE GROSBEAK found Tuesday at Gilgo, usually east of the restrooms there, was still present today. Other Tuesday BLUE GROSBEAKS included one near the Wantagh Parkway at Jones Beach and one in Queens at the All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village. Accompanying the grosbeaks were scattered flocks of INDIGO BUNTINGS, and also found in the Jones area were a CATTLE EGRET at the West End Tuesday, a GULL-BILLED TERN at Gilgo Wednesday, and such shorebirds at West End as SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, and RED KNOT. A HOODED WARBLER was also at West End Monday, when several LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were noted: one at West End, three at Captree State Park, one at Robert Moses State Park, and one at Heckscher State Park, this joined by an ICELAND GULL.

The YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER found on the 19th at Connetquot State Park was still singing near the fish hatchery restrooms, at least to Monday.

Birds reported from Mecox Bay this week have included up to three CASPIAN TERNS and a BLACK SKIMMER.

A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was at Terrell River County Park last Sunday, and other arrivals have included LESSER YELLOWLEGS, LEAST SANDPIPER, and RED-EYED VIREO.

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 ~