New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 31, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May. 31, 2013
* NYNY1305.31

- Birds mentioned

Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Red-necked Grebe
Sooty Shearwater
MANX SHEARWATER
Northern Gannet
BROWN PELICAN
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Western Sandpiper
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Roseate Tern
Parasitic Jaeger
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
SUMMER TANAGER
Grasshopper Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
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, May 31st 2013 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are BROWN PELICAN, MANX SHEARWATER, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and late Spring migrants.

Ocean watching from the south shore of Long Island has been fairly productive this past week starting last Saturday morning at Robert Moses State Park field 2 where a few SOOTY SHEARWATERS, 6 plus PARASITIC JAEGERS, several NORTHERN GANNETS and 2 ROSEATE TERNS were present. Saturday afternoon the stretch of ocean from Pike's Beach west to Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes contained over 130 feeding SOOTY SHEARWATERS, 1 or 2 MANX SHEARWATERS and another PARASITIC JAEGER with other SOOTIES also off Shinnecock Inlet. Twenty-eight SOOTY SHEARWATERS were counted off Smith Point County Park in Shirley on Sunday but with the northwest winds on Sunday it was less active off Robert Moses State Park though a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE did fly in off the ocean. In the same winds Monday there were a few SOOTY SHEARWATERS between Shinnecock and Cupsogue but the highlight was a BROWN PELICAN flying east to west off Shinnecock just before noon. A few flocks of scoters mostly BLACK also continue along the ocean coast. An injured RED-NECKED GREBE was off Robert Moses field 2 on Wednesday this probably the bird previously residing at nearby Captree State Park and this morning a few SOOTY SHEARWATERS and a PARASITIC JAEGER were off Moses field
2.

Two separate singing YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS were found during the week. One last Sunday morning at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley and another at Caumsett State Park on Monday afternoon. When looking for these birds as with any other regionally rare nesters please do not use tapes since they can have a very adverse impact on the breeding success of these birds.

This also pertains to the SUMMER TANAGER found Wednesday and still present today at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island across the street from the College of Staten Island. Another male SUMMER TANAGER was photographed at Tobay Sanctuary last Friday.

At Big Egg Marsh south of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the search on Monday through a large congregation of shorebirds there produced a WESTERN SANDPIPER, very rare here in Spring, and on Tuesday the nicely plumaged AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was seen in flight.

Last Sunday a flock of 12 RED CROSSBILLS was observed at the David Sarnoff Preserve in Flanders and on Monday about 20 RED CROSSBILLS were in pines near the intersection of Grumman Boulevard and Line Road in Calverton. Close scrutiny of the latter flock did not yield any heavily streaked juveniles. Other isolated pairs were also noted flying around that area. A decent number of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were singing around the airport property there and a BLUE GROSBEAK appeared briefly nearby there.

For migration in general the winds this past week until the hot spell arrived were not very favorable for migration and the heat will probably bring a rapid conclusion to most of the migratory activity though it may also trigger the emergence of the 17 year cicadas and hopefully the appearance of some hungry Kites.

The expected later migrants have been moving through this week. MOURNING WARBLERS have been found in Central Park, Prospect Park and Forest Park as well as many other areas and a decent variety of other warblers continue to be seen.

Flycatcher variety has improved greatly with a few OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS and 5 species of empidonax with ALDER FLYCATCHER and ACADIAN FLYCATCHER fairly widespread but fewer YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS reported.

Other highlights have included both cuckoos with improving numbers of BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and a variety of thrushes. Also moving now are NELSON'S SPARROWS with one nicely photographed at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn on Monday and an adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKER found Monday in Central Park was still present today in the Ramble near the Balancing Rock and Captain's Bench.

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