New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 15, 2014:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 15, 2014
* NYNY1408.15

- Birds Mentioned

FEA’S PETREL+
WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL+
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL+
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
LEACH’S STORM-PETREL
BROWN PELICAN
AMERICAN AVOCET
Western Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
LITTLE GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler
LARK SPARROW



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, August 15 at
6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are pelagic trip results including FEA’S PETREL, WHITE-FACED, BAND-RUMPED and LEACH’S STORM-PETRELS, AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER and BRIDLED TERN, plus BROWN PELICAN, LITTLE GULL, AMERICAN AVOCET, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and LARK SPARROW.

The long-anticipated overnight pelagic trip aboard the Captain Lou Fleet’s Starstream VIII from Freeport, sponsored by See Life Paulagics, arrived at the mouth of Hudson Canyon, about 110 miles out in the Atlantic, well before dawn Tuesday morning, and a spectacular day began. An impressive chum slick attracted hundreds of Storm-Petrels as well as a short but very satisfying visit from a FEA’S PETREL, nicely photographed as it cruised by the boat. A WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL also appeared a short while later, while the intervening time was spent studying and enjoying great looks at numbers of BAND-RUMPED and LEACH’S STORM-PETRELS as they circulated among the many WILSON’S. A few AUDUBON’S SHEARWATERS plus a BRIDLED TERN on the way back in were among the other highlights. The official pelagic totals included the 1 exceptional FEA’S PETREL, 6 CORY’S, 5 GREAT, and 6 AUDUBON’S

SHEARWATERS, over 1,000 WILSON’S, 43 LEACH’S, 56 BAND-RUMPED, and 1 WHITE-FACED STORM-PETRELS, and 1 BRIDLED TERN. Common and Bottlenose Dolphins, a breaching Minke Whale, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, and Hammerhead Shark were some other highlights. A great trip!

Another pelagic Saturday out over 150 miles southeast of Shinnecock recorded 1 LEACH’S and 23 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS, 2 CORY’S, 1 GREAT, and 4 AUDUBON’S SHEARWATERS.

Last Saturday morning a BROWN PELICAN spotted flying east off Jones Beach West End was, after a cell phone alert, seen again ½ hour later off Robert Moses State Park Field 2, still continuing east. Perhaps it was also this one flying west past Tobay about 2 hours later.

Also at Jones Beach West End, a sub-adult LITTLE GULL found sitting on the close bar off the Coast Guard Station Sunday morning was seen in that same area Monday.

Then on Wednesday, a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE visited a dune pool west of the West End 2 parking lot.

Good numbers of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS also continue at West End, occurring in the West End 2 parking lot, at the pools between West End 2 and the Roosevelt Nature Center, or along the outer beach. In addition, 29 LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS were counted at Smith Point County Park Thursday evening.

A couple of ROYAL TERNS and a variety of shorebirds have also been at West End, and 2 ROYALS have also spent some time at Plum Beach in Brooklyn.

The LARK SPARROW found Thursday the 7th at Robert Moses State Park was still being seen along the north edge of parking field 2 at least to Saturday, and another was spotted at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Other shorebird highlights featured an AMERICAN AVOCET present briefly at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Saturday morning and the season’s 1st BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER appearing at Heckscher State Park on Wednesday and still present there today in the median strip east of the parking fields.

Highlights on the east pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last weekend included WESTERN, WHITE-RUMPED, PECTORAL, and STILT SANDPIPERS. Stilt numbers reached 39 on Wednesday, and a CASPIAN TERN was seen on the pond Wednesday and today. And note that the rains have again raised the east pond water level, so be prepared.

A EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVE was reported again last Saturday at Chelsea Waterside Park in southern Manhattan around West 23rd Street and 11th Avenue. With other types of escaped or released Collared- and Turtle-Doves floating about, should the origins of this bird also be questioned?

Recent migrant warblers have included a male GOLDEN-WINGED, female CERULEAN and HOODED in Prospect Park today, with other species regionally including BLUE-WINGED, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BLACKBURNIAN, CHESTNUT-SIDED, YELLOW-RUMPED and CANADA.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or weekdays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483 <%28212%29%20372-1483>.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript