New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 9, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May. 9, 2014
* NYNY1405.09

- Birds mentioned
WILSON'S PLOVER+
BLACK-NECKED STILT+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Cattle Egret
Clapper Rail
Marbled Godwit
Red Knot
White-rumped Sandpiper
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Least Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Marsh Wren
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Bay-breasted Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
SUMMER TANAGER
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow

- 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 nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}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

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 9th 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are BLACK-NECKED STILT, WILSON'S PLOVER, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and much more.

A pretty decent week with some nice rarities augmented by a good dose of migration thanks mostly to the poor weather yesterday and today. This effect should carry into the weekend.

What may have been last week's Prospect Park flyover BLACK-NECKED STILT was found Sunday at Goethal's Bridge Pond on northwestern Staten Island and the bird has been present through today. This pond is north of Route 278 and is approached from Forest Avenue. Another good shorebird, a male WILSON'S PLOVER, was seen again Tuesday at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes the bird well out on the flats off the inlet beach at low tide.

A nice incursion of CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOWS into the city parks took place this week. Last Sunday one was actually photographed perched on a gravestone in Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn and this was followed by one heard singing Monday evening on Breeze Hill in nearby Prospect Park. Also on Monday in Central Park one spent the day roosting around the maintenance area enjoyed by many birders. On Tuesday one was noted at the Cemetery of the Resurrection on Staten Island. More suitable habitat like that on eastern Long Island or Fire Island where this species is unusually encountered.

A GULL-BILLED TERN on the bar east of the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station Saturday and Sunday was followed by four at Nickerson Beach Wednesday.

The previously reported MARBLED GODWIT count at nearby Lido Beach on May 1st was actually only one with some Short-billed Dowitchers also present.

A CATTLE EGRET at Mount Loretto Unique Area on Staten Island last Friday and Saturday may have been the one seen at Piermont Pier on the Hudson on Monday.

Among the warblers an obliging KENTUCKY WARBLER hung around in Prospect Park from Saturday through mid-week with other singles at Alley Pond Park Saturday, in Central Park Sunday and Monday and at Southards Pond in Babylon on Sunday. A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER visited Madison Square Park at 23rd Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan Saturday through Tuesday with another in Prospect Park Tuesday and Wednesday and YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS featured one lingering in Central Park to last weekend with singles also in Cunningham Park in Queens Saturday and Prospect Park Sunday. Otherwise the 33 species of warblers encountered this week also featured an ORANGE-CROWNED singing around Central Park's Maintenance Meadow Saturday through today, a CERULEAN WARBLER at Hempstead Lake State Park Sunday to Wednesday and one in Prospect Park today and encouraging numbers of WORM-EATING and HOODED WARBLERS. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER has been noted on territory north of New York City and one was reported in Brooklyn today and other arrivals have included CAPE MAY and WILSON'S starting Saturday, TENNESSEE from Sunday and BAY-BREASTED as of Wednesday. The flight yesterday and today also brought in among the regular warblers large numbers of NORTHERN PARULAS, BLACK-AND-WHITES, BLACK-THROATED BLUES, OVENBIRDS and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES plus pleasant numbers of many other species.

A few SUMMER TANAGERS include singles in Central Park Saturday to today, Forest Park on Monday and Tuesday, Southards Pond Tuesday and Cunningham Park Wednesday. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen at Captree this morning.

During the week GLAUCOUS GULLS were seen in Brooklyn and at Mecox, ICELAND GULL on eastern Long Island and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in Brooklyn. Up to 3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were seen in Cupsogue and Sagg Ponds starting on Wednesday. A CLAPPER RAIL in Prospect Park last Saturday was unusual there and 5 RED-NECKED GREBES were still off Rye Playland Wednesday.

A long list of new arrivals this week also includes RED KNOT, COMMON and LEAST TERNS, BLACK-BILLED and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, MARSH WREN, SWAINSON'S and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was in Central Park last Saturday with one still in Green-wood Cemetery and evening COMMON NIGHTHAWKS are on the increase.

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