New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 14, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sept 14, 2012
* NYNY1209.14

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

Cory's Shearwater
Northern Gannet
American Bittern
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Sora
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
MARBLED GODWIT
Western Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
POMARINE JAEGER
Parasitic Jaeger
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Tennessee Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
SUMMER TANAGER
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
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:

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, September 14th, at 8:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, MARBLED GODWIT, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, POMARINE JAEGER, SUMMER TANAGER, CONNECTICUT WARBLER and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

Locally a front providing an increase in migrants on Monday has dissipated during the week, and we await the next wave's arrival.

The most notable rarity locally remains the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, still frequenting the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where shorebird numbers remain low. Two SORAS were along the phragmites edge at the northwest corner of the pond last Sunday, and an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER dropped in on the north end flats late Sunday afternoon.

In Central Park, the most notable birds were a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW seen late Wednesday and on Thursday near the Loch at the north end, and an AMERICAN BITTERN lingering around Turtle Pond from Sunday through today, but a good variety of other seasonal migrants was also present. The selection featured YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO; several species of flycatcher including YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER; PHILADELPHIA VIREO on Monday; various thrushes including GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH; RUSTY BLACKBIRD, PURPLE FINCH, and LINCOLN'S SPARROW, as well as about 28 species of warblers including TENNESSEE WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, the latter still present today at the north end.

Other local parks have also enjoyed a similar variety, but perhaps the most attention was generated by a vireo found Tuesday at Mount Loretto Park on Staten Island, this apparent immature WHITE-EYED VIREO demonstrating just how difficult separating similar-looking species can be, in this case, from a Bell's Vireo. A more familiar example would of course be critically differentiating yellow-looking fall Warbling Vireos from Philadelphias.

A hawk flight over Central Park Monday included over 300 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and two BALD EAGLES, and the inland ridges are now heating up.

Other interesting birds locally included a couple of CONNECTICUT WARBLERS at Alley Pond Park last weekend and one at Calvert Vaux Park in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Along the beach there was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW today at the Lido Beach Nature Center at Point Lookout, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at Robert Moses State Park last Sunday, and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at the eastern end of field 2 at Moses Park on Monday. A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was photographed at Sunken Meadow State Park today.

At Heckscher State Park last Saturday there were still two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS and a WESTERN SANDPIPER and a PECTORAL SANDPIPER at the pool in parking lot 7.

Farther east, three MARBLED GODWITS have been present at Cupsogue County Park recently, often seen near Moriches Inlet. A WHIMBREL was also spotted there Thursday, and at nearby Pike's Beach a CASPIAN TERN has been joining the ROYAL TERNS there, with up to 70 of the latter estimated this week.

Last Saturday at Shinnecock Inlet during the strong winds, a POMARINE JAEGER came down the beach, just beyond the off shore breakers providing nice views, but conditions otherwise only produced one CORY'S SHEARWATER, a PARASITIC JAEGER, and an adult NORTHERN GANNET. Two MARBLED GODWITS and 40 ROYAL TERNS were on the Shinnecock bar Saturday.

At the Route 105 and Sound Avenue sod fields north of Riverhead last Saturday there were 13 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, four BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS, and eight PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, with two more GOLDENS off Eastport Manor Road, just north of Route 51.

A SUMMER TANAGER was still in Northwest Harbor in a private yard there last Saturday, and five AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER were around the Mecox flats Wednesday.

Six WHIMBREL were seen Sunday along the shore of Gardiners Bay, along with 84 BLACK TERNS in a feeding tern flock off shore, and an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER visited Oyster Pond Tuesday.

At Montauk Point 12 CORY'S SHEARWATERS were seen off Camp Hero Monday, with four at the Point on Thursday also joined by two PARASITIC JAEGERS, and two YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were seen at Camp Hero Thursday.

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 ~