New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 18, 2014:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
*Apr. 18, 2014
* NYNY1404.18

- Birds Mentioned

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE+
WHITE-WINGED DOVE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Tricolored Heron
Broad-Winged Hawk
Clapper Rail
Willet
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
CASPIAN TERN
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
House Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
SUMMER TANAGER


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 nysarc44nybirdsorg

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

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Gail Benson

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]
Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, April 18 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, SNOWY OWL, CASPIAN TERN and spring migrants.

Finally, this week the unusual winter holdovers gave way to some nice spring rarities, with three good southern overshoots appearing before winter came back again later in mid-week.

Topping the list certainly was SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, with two Monday sightings of what is one of the world’s greatest and most distinctive birds. But, like virtually every other New York appearance, these sightings were very fortuitous and very brief. The first was seen about 8 am Monday morning over the Southern State Parkway near its intersection with the Wantagh Parkway, and the second appeared briefly over the Lullwater in Prospect Park, Brooklyn around 9 am, visible long enough for a diagnostic photo to be taken. These sightings might involve the same bird, though the first was reported moving East. Hopefully one day one will stay in New York long enough to be enjoyed by many - a free dinner to the finder of that bird.

Two southern passerines appearing on Sunday were a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER spotted near the Lower Pool in Prospect Park and a male SUMMER TANAGER seen briefly at the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers.

Another interesting bird was a WHITE-WINGED DOVE appearing Sunday around a private home in Montauk - and the source of this species in the Northeast remains more mysterious.

A CASPIAN TERN visited Mecox Bay from last Friday through Monday, and an increasing number of spring arrivals, mostly expected, have included TRICOLORED HERON as of last Friday, CLAPPER RAIL and FORSTER’S TERN both at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area Sunday, BROAD-WINGED HAWK from Saturday, some WILLETS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER at Captree yesterday, and a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD on Eastern Long Island Sunday. Increasing numbers of LAUGHING GULLS and CHIMNEY SWIFTS were also noted. Among the passerines appearing recently have been an EASTERN KINGBIRD reported last Sunday and WHITE-EYED VIREO in Prospect Park last Saturday, as well as a few more BLUE-HEADED VIREOS and HOUSE WRENS.

Newly arrived warblers featured a WORM-EATING WARBLER in Prospect Park Wednesday to today, PRAIRIE WARBLERS in both Central and Prospect Parks, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER reported from Bellmore Monday, a YELLOW WARBLER at Hempstead Lake State Park, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT or two, and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN on Staten Island today. Also increasing were BLACK-AND-WHITE, NORTHERN PARULA, and PALM.

On the winter front, last Saturday still found two SNOWY OWLS at Jones Beach West End and one at Orient Beach State Park, and a few RED-NECKED GREBES included another visiting Central Park Reservoir to Thursday. A GLAUCOUS GULL was still at Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn Monday and Wednesday, with single LESSER BLACK-BACKS over Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn Monday, at Floyd Bennett Field Tuesday, and at Heckscher State Park today. A late RAZORBILL was moving east off Robert Moses State Park this morning. RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still in Brooklyn at Greenwood Cemetery and Marine Park Saturday, with others at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx Sunday, at Muttontown Preserve Monday and in Rye today.

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