New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 4, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May. 4, 2012
* NYNY1205.04

- Birds mentioned

WHITE-FACED IBIS+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Snow Goose
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Cattle Egret
Black Vulture
Sora
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
Caspian Tern
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Marsh Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Blue-winged Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Lawrence's Warbler (hybrid)
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
American Redstart
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
SUMMER TANAGER
Scarlet Tanager
Grasshopper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
BLUE GROSBEAK
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole

- Transcript

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 nysarc3 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

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

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, May 4th 2012 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE-FACED IBIS, BLUE GROSBEAK, SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE and lots of Spring migrants.

Early May had a bad weather system that forced birds down, a combination that has certainly paid off for regional birders this week with most local parks hosting a good variety and decent numbers of migrants.

The week's true rarity was the adult WHITE-FACED IBIS found April 24th at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and still present yesterday. Last Saturday the ibis flew into the north end of the West Pond shortly after 4pm and Thursday it was seen around noon along the west shore of the pond. Patience and a close watch on the incoming ibis are needed. Another highlight at the bay was a WILSON'S PHALAROPE spotted Thursday around the southwest corner off the West Pond.

A territorial YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, presumably the bird initially around the fish hatcheries at Connequot State Park, was relocated last Saturday morning near the set of buildings a little past the entrance booth and yesterday it was still in the taller trees around the first left bend in the road across from the restaurant. Two BLUE GROSBEAKS were also present Sunday around the horse corrals behind these buildings and a HOODED WARBLER was heard farther into the park yesterday. A notable influx of BLUE GROSBEAKS has recently included the male lingering into the week at Gilgo feeding just east of the restroom building. Several INDIGO BUNTINGS also remain there as well as in other coastal sites. Other BLUE GROSBEAKS were noted in Central Park early in the week, at Calvert Vaux Park in Brooklyn Sunday and at Montauk Point State Park last Saturday.

Birders looking for a female type SUMMER TANAGER spotted early last Saturday at Valley Stream State Park found instead a male SUMMER TANAGER and another Summer was reported from Central Park early on Wednesday.

A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER continued in Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan up to Wednesday with an apparent report from today. In this small park's run of good birds continued with the discovery of a KENTUCKY WARBLER there Thursday. Another PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was at Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday while Central Park reported single KENTUCKYS in the Ramble Wednesday and at the north end Thursday and today following the original bird seen up to Sunday at the Shakespeare Garden. KENTUCKY WARBLERS were also noted at Riverside Park Thursday and on Staten Island today.

A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was found at Crocheron Park in Queens Monday afternoon with Central Park reports from the Ramble Wednesday and north end Thursday with a LAWRENCE'S WARBLER hybrid noted at the park's north end Thursday.

CERULEAN WARBLERS today were seen in both Central Park and Prospect Park. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was still in Central Park last weekend with a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER reported in the Ramble Monday. Another ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at Owl's Head Park in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Among the 30 or so species of warblers in the area this week have been BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, a few TENNESSEE WARBLERS, NASHVILLE WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, a few BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS, AMERICAN REDSTART, WORM-EATING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT has also been reported in Central Park from Wednesday on. Other interesting birds in Central Park featured an EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL singing Thursday evening and a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW Thursday and Friday north of the Sheep Meadow.

Out on eastern Long Island 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS and some COMMON EIDER were at Montauk Point Saturday with a lingering SNOW GOOSE in Montauk also that day and a BLACK VULTURE at the Deep Hollow Dude Ranch on Wednesday. Sunday at Mecox Bay there were single CASPIAN TERN and 2 BLACK SKIMMERS. A CATTLE EGRET was present Wednesday and Thursday north of Riverhead along Sound Avenue about a half mile west of the Route 105 intersection while today one was spotted at Mecox Dairy off Mecox Road in Bridgehampton. A WHIMBREL was along Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet on Saturday.

Among the many species arriving and becoming more widespread during the week have been SORA, LEAST SANDPIPER, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, LEAST FLYCATCHER, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, BANK SWALLOW, PURPLE MARTIN, MARSH WREN, WOOD THRUSH, SWAINSON'S THRUSH and VEERY, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, RED-EYED VIREO, BOBOLINK, ORCHARD ORIOLE, BALTIMORE ORIOLE, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

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 transcript