New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 31, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 31, 2012
* NYNY1208.31

- Birds mentioned

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

American Golden-Plover
AMERICAN AVOCET
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Western Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
Purple Finch
RED CROSSBILL

- 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:

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

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, August 31st 2012 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, AMERICAN AVOCET, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, MARBLED GODWIT, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, DICKCISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK and RED CROSSBILL.

Thanks mainly to the Tuesday night front an arrival of a notable number of migrants Wednesday morning especially impressive for August and its variety. Landbirds actually deserve top billing this week.

In all, 33 species of warblers were reported this week. The most unusual were from Brooklyn's Prospect Park where a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was found Wednesday this following a female type PROTHONOTARY WARBLER lingering to last Saturday and both male and female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS seen on Wednesday the male present earlier. Also exceptional was a KENTUCKY WARBLER in Central Park's north end to Wednesday. MOURNING WARBLERS were noted in a few locations besides Central Park and Prospect Park including one in Bryant Park Wednesday and 2 at Jones Beach West End Thursday. Single YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were spotted in Prospect Park to Friday, Central Park on Monday, Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn Friday and Oakland Lake in Queens last Saturday. Besides notably early YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and PALM WARBLERS among others and late LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH other less common warblers seen this week included TENNESSEE WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER and WILSON'S WARBLER.

Other interesting landbirds have featured a BLUE GROSBEAK at Robert Moses State Park field 2 on Wednesday and a few DICKCISSELS including one Saturday at Jamaica Bay, 2 at Moses field 2 Wednesday and one Friday by the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End. Notable migrants reported also include YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a few species of empidonax flycatcher including YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER and ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, CLIFF SWALLOW, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, WINTER WREN, lots of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and PURPLE FINCH.

But perhaps the most unexpected passerine by date has to be RED CROSSBILL with 7 arriving in Central Park today and spending much of the day in evergreens at the Shakespeare Garden. [Editor's note: The flock continues into Saturday morning. Check between Shakespeare Garden and Belvedere Castle.]

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was still around the north end of the East Pond at least to Thursday and the lingering AMERICAN AVOCET was at that same location today. Other recent Jamaica Bay shorebird highlights on the East Pond have included one or two BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and 2 WHIMBREL last Saturday, 2 HUDSONIAN GODWITS staying just a couple of hours at the north end on Sunday, a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the north end Monday followed by an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER there on Tuesday and such species as WESTERN SANDPIPER, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, PECTORAL SANDPIPER and STILT SANDPIPER. Two ROYAL TERNS also appeared on the pond Sunday afternoon.

In Queens a WILSON'S PHALAROPE visited Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Monday.

A big surprise, certainly caused by the rain happening before dawn Tuesday morning, was the two dozen HUDSONIAN GODWITS spotted Tuesday morning on the Coast Guard bar at Jones Beach West End unfortunately they did not stay long. A MARBLED GODWIT though has been lingering on the mudflats at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes seen this week on Monday and then again today this time on flats closer to Moriches Inlet. A number of ROYAL TERNS also remain there.

The sod fields on the east side of Doctor's Path north of Riverhead last Sunday hosted over 100 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and at least 2 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS the birds favoring the portion of the fields both south of Sound Avenue about half way down to Northville Turnpike this is just west of the Route 105 fields. Another BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was on a field off Eastport Manor Road just north of Route 51 where the Valero Station is, the bird using the northern section of the field both Sunday and Monday.

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