New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 17, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* August 17, 2012
* NYNY1208.17

- Birds Mentioned:
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

MANX SHEARWATER
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
BROWN PELICAN
Solitary Sandpiper
UPLAND SANDPIPER
Whimbrel
MARBLED GODWIT
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Blue-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
House Sparrow

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:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
486 High Street
Victor, NY 14564

~ 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, August 17th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are BROWN PELICAN, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, LARK SPARROW, DICKCISSEL, MANX SHEARWATER, MARBLED GODWIT, and UPLAND SANDPIPER .

It was a good week for pelicans, with both North American species putting in appearances.

First, last Saturday on a rising tide, two BROWN PELICANS flew into Jones Inlet and spent a couple of hours around the bar, in the inlet across from the West End Coast Guard Station. They then at about 1pm flew out of the inlet, apparently moving west past Point Lookout, but on Wednesday perhaps it was the same two pelicans reported flying east past the West End Boat Basin, so they could be continuing in the area.

On Tuesday, an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN dropped in on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, spending time at the north end of the pond before flying off to the southeast. The pelican also appeared back at the north end of the East Pond Thursday and Friday at high tide, so it too seems to be hanging around.

A CASPIAN TERN visited the East Pond Saturday afternoon. Among the shorebirds, numbers have been somewhat low lately, with some juveniles beginning to appear, and two or three LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS continuing on the East Pond.

Also at Jones Beach West End, an immature LARK SPARROW was hanging around the West End 2 parking lot from Thursday the 9th through last weekend, but we have no reports since Monday. Two subadult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were in the West End 2 parking lot Saturday afternoon, and the numbers of Lessers grew to eight in the lot on Wednesday.

A sea watch off West End 2 late Saturday afternoon produced one WILSON'S STORM-PETREL and one MANX SHEARWATER, with this Manx, or a different one, also occurring off Jones Beach field 6 an hour later. A BLACK TERN also visited the West End Saturday.

On Tuesday morning a MARBLED GODWIT appeared on the bar off the West End Coast Guard Station, and a DICKCISSEL was with House Sparrows around the rest rooms near the Coast Guard Station. A WHIMBREL was among other shorebirds at the West End early in the week, and a GULL-BILLED TERN visited the Coast Guard sandbar on Wednesday.

At Heckscher State Park, some rain pools around a few of the parking lots have been attracting a decent variety of shorebirds, including a WHIMBREL that has spent the last three days near field 7. Other sandpipers at Heckscher have featured up to seven or more PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, a STILT SANDPIPER, and three SOLITARY SANDPIPERS. An UPLAND SANDPIPER was also reported there recently.

An UPLAND SANDPIPER flew over the golf course in Calverton on Wednesday, and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was at nearby Sandy Pond.

Out at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes, decent numbers of shorebirds on the flats featured three WILSON'S PHALAROPES reported Thursday afternoon, with a WHIMBREL there earlier. A CASPIAN TERN was at Cupsogue Thursday, and there are now about 20 ROYAL TERNS between there and adjacent PIKE'S BEACH.

A few WHIMBREL continue on the North Fork at Cedar Beach County Park in Southold.

The KENTUCKY WARBLER was heard again Thursday at the Rocky Point DEC field off Route 25A after a long quiet period.

A reasonable number of warblers and other migrants came through earlier in the week, some of the more notable species including COMMON NIGHTHAWK, ORCHARD ORIOLE, and BOBOLINK, while among the warblers were BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, PRAIRIE WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLER, OVENBIRD, CANADA WARBLER, and even a couple of MOURNING WARBLERS noted from Central Park and Marshlands Conservancy in Rye.

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 ~