New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 15, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* June 15, 2012
* NYNY1206.15

- Birds Mentioned:

MISSISSIPPI KITE+ (Orange County)
CURLEW SANDPIPER+
ARCTIC TERN+
SANDWICH TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Gadwall
Surf Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Horned Grebe
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
'Western' Willet
Sanderling
White-rumped Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Gull-billed Tern
Black Tern
Roseate Tern
Black Skimmer
Parasitic Jaeger
Barred Owl
Acadian Flycatcher
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Northern Parula
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
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@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, June 15th at 8:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are CURLEW SANDPIPER, SANDWICH TERN, ARCTIC TERN, MISSISSIPPI KITES, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, and summer count results, including DICKCISSEL.

Thursday afternoon on a rising tide, an adult CURLEW SANDPIPER in full breeding plumage was spotted on the Cupsogue County Park mudflats, the bird ultimately flying off as the water level increased. Late this morning the CURLEW was refound at Pike's Beach, on the tidal bars off the West Hampton Dunes Overlook platform, staying around there till mid-afternoon. The Cupsogue mudflats are on the bay side north of the parking lot, and a fee is charged to park during normal beach hours. Pike's Overlook is a little east of the Cupsogue entrance, and it has its own parking lot. Three WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were also present at Pike's today, and an early 'WESTERN' WILLET was at Cupsogue Thursday evening.

Even farther east on Long Island, the mudflats at Mecox just north of the outflow from Mecox Bay to the ocean recently attracted a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE as well as up to three WILSON'S PHALAROPES. The RED-NECKED was last noted last Saturday, when an adult SANDWICH TERN also dropped in on the flats briefly. The WILSON'S PHALAROPES were also present, at least to Sunday.

The two MISSISSIPPI KITES, still present near the Visitors Center at Sterling Forest State Park in Orange County, were actively nest-building late in the week. Please enjoy, but do not disturb these birds.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Sunday, a GULL-BILLED TERN visited the marsh south of the West Pond, and a few WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were also at the Refuge.

Another GULL-BILLED has been present recently around the thriving tern and skimmer colonies at Nickerson Beach, this off Lido Boulevard, west of Point Lookout. Last Saturday an immature ARCTIC TERN was also reported from that site.

A KENTUCKY WARBLER has been seen recently at a DEC property in Rocky Point, off Route 25A. Please remember that very localized species such as this, which are attempting to establish a territory, should not be harassed by tape-playing or other thoughtless forms of disturbance.

A sea watch off Robert Moses State Park field 2 on Tuesday morning noted seven GREAT SHEARWATERS, seven CORY'S SHEARWATERS, nine unidentified large Shearwaters, five SOOTY SHEARWATERS, and singles of WILSON'S STORM-PETREL and PARASITIC JAEGER. Four ROSEATE TERNS were also present.

There has been an interesting unexpected influx of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES into the area recently.

The Greenwich-Stamford Summer Bird Count, which includes much of eastern Westchester County, was conducted last weekend and recorded 134 species. Highlights included a breeding-plumaged HORNED GREBE in Rye; GADWALL, 6 LONG-TAILED DUCKS and a first-ever SURF SCOTER; BLACK VULTURE, 4 BALD EAGLES on inland reservoirs; 9 WILLETS and a SANDERLING; a count period BLACK TERN and 2 BLACK SKIMMERS in Rye; about a dozen BARRED OWLS; 4 ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS, 6 COMMON RAVENS, 2 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES; decent numbers of CLIFF SWALLOWS and PURPLE MARTINS; WINTER WREN, NORTHERN PARULA, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and HOODED WARBLER; NELSON'S SPARROW, SALTMARSH SPARROW, and SEASIDE SPARROW; and certainly the least expected species: a male DICKCISSEL singing on a North Greenwich field. Unfortunately, this field was mowed shortly after the count, and the DICKCISSEL has disappeared.

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 ~