New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 9, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug 9, 2013
* NYNY1308.09

- Birds Mentioned:

AMERICAN AVOCET
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
GULL-BILLED TERN
Roseate Tern
Barn Owl
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Swainson's Thrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Canada Warbler
Orchard Oriole


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)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

[** NOTE: THIS IS A NEW ADDRESS **]


~ 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 (Long Island)

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 9th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are AMERICAN AVOCETS, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and GULL-BILLED TERNS.

AMERICAN AVOCETS continue to move through our area, but recently none have lingered. Last Saturday morning, one visited the island bar off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End, but soon moved off due to Peregrine pressure, and two were present for a short while at the marsh at the Timber Point Golf Club in Great River. Another was reported by the Ponquogue Bridge in Shinnecock yesterday, but these have not been relocated.

MARBLED GODWITS have been somewhat more reliable. One at Breezy Point since at least July 25th was on Sunday still feeding along the ocean beach where the terns and skimmers plus lots of Sanderlings and gulls roost and feed. Here, access is a problem, as a day permit or a seasonal fishing permit is needed to park in the Breezy Point parking lot. The day permit could be gotten at the Riis Park bathhouse or at Floyd Bennett field, depending on which facility they choose to have open -- apparently a whimsical choice. Another MARBLED GODWIT visited the Cupsogue County Park flats in West Hampton Dunes last Sunday and was likely the one seen on the Pike's Beach flats just to the east on Wednesday.

A HUDSONIAN GODWIT briefly visited the Jones Beach West End CGS bar this morning.

Recent WHIMBREL sightings have included five at Cupsogue Saturday, one on the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard island on Sunday, one flying by Captree today, and a few lingering at Cedar Beach Park in Southold on the north fork of Long Island.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, the recent shorebird highlight on the East Pond was the season's first WILSON'S PHALAROPE found on Wednesday. Other notables among a nice gathering of shorebirds on the East Pond have been 50+ STILT SANDPIPERS, 1-2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and WESTERN SANDPIPERS, and the arrival finally of some WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS. Other expected shorebirds are present in good numbers, including some juveniles now showing up, along with the occasional RED KNOT, SANDERLING, RUDDY TURNSTONE, and other less common East Pond visitors. Harassing Peregrines continue to be a problem, causing the shorebirds to often leave the Pond shortly after high tide peaks. From the blind at Big John's Pond, look for the BARN OWL in the box across the pond, but please do not harass the owl.

A few LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS have been around, including three in the West End 2 parking lot at Jones Beach last weekend, and six there today. Three were at Democrat Point on Fire Island along with some ROSEATE TERNS on Wednesday.

Adult GULL-BILLED TERNS were attending two juveniles on the Coast Guard island bar at Jones Beach West End last Saturday.

On Monday a decent land bird flight was noted at Robert Moses State Park. Joining good numbers of Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows were 59 BANK SWALLOWS, 20 CLIFF SWALLOWS, and 8 PURPLE MARTINS, while warblers included 49 YELLOW WARBLERS and 9 NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, with 8 ORCHARD ORIOLES also counted.

Among the other warblers reported recently in our area, generally as singles only, have been BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, PRAIRIE WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, OVENBIRD, and CANADA WARBLER, with a SWAINSON'S THRUSH also noted on Staten Island on Wednesday.

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 ~