New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 12, 2014:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sept. 12, 2014
* NYNY1409.12

- Birds Mentioned

Red-necked Grebe
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Sora
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER
Western Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
POMARINE JAEGER
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Common Nighthawk
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Red-headed Woodpecker
Philadelphia Vireo
Tennessee Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
BLUE GROSBEAK

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, September 12 at 7:00 PM.

The highlights of today’s tape are POMARINE JAEGER, BUFF-BREASTED and BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS, HUDSONIAN and MARBLED GODWITS, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, CONNECTICUT WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK, LARK SPARROW and a pelagic trip announcement.

In a week similar to the prior one, with good shorebird variety but somewhat disappointing land bird activity, the most interesting report involved a POMARINE JAEGER moving east past Robert Moses State Park Field 2 Wednesday morning. Four LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were also counted there.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge two very confiding BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were present on the east pond through last weekend, joining two HUDSONIAN GODWITS, and a MARBLED GODWIT also appeared on the pond Sunday, with it and one of the HUDSONIANS still present Thursday. Other notables on the east pond included an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER Wednesday, some WESTERN, WHITE-RUMPED and STILT SANDPIPERS, a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER last weekend, a CASPIAN TERN Saturday and a SORA along the pond’s edge Sunday.

Birders checking the low tide mud flats at Plum Beach in Brooklyn encountered a HUDSONIAN GODWIT briefly on Saturday and a WHIMBREL Sunday.

Three GULL-BILLED TERNS were again on the Coast Guard Station bar at Jones Beach West End last Saturday.

Notable landbirds in the New York City area this week included an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Central Park Tuesday to today, a CONNECTICUT WARBLER lingering in Prospect Park last weekend, a few PHILADELPHIA VIREOS in the city parks, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT in Prospect Park Sunday, and a VESPER SPARROW in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery Sunday, with a LARK SPARROW there today,

A decent variety of warblers, but in low numbers, has also been present, these including some TENNESSEE, CAPE MAY, BAY-BREASTED, WILSON’S and HOODED.

Moving east on Long Island, a BLUE GROSBEAK was spotted at Robert Moses State Park Saturday, another was at Sunken Meadow State Park Wednesday, and a family group of three was still present Tuesday along Route 51 north of Route 111 in Eastport, where they do nest.

Out in the sod fields north of Riverhead a few BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS have been seen lately, with five Thursday south of Sound Avenue on a field between Osborn Avenue and Horton Avenue, the same number seen Wednesday on the south side of Route 25 in Calverton; other singles were also noted in that area, and the fields west of Route 105 just south of Sound Avenue also featured AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and BAIRD’S SANDPIPER at least through last weekend.

A nice collection of shorebirds Sunday at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes featured an HUDSONIAN GODWIT, still present Thursday, and two BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS; the 20 species spread between the flats north of the parking lot and the bars in the inlet also included PECTORAL, WESTERN and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS among the more expected species.

Birds on the flats at Mecox included an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and a MARBLED GODWIT Saturday, with an HUDSONIAN GODWIT there Thursday, and the RED-NECKED GREBE also continues there.

An EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL singing briefly at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye last Saturday evening and prior indicates that they, as well as decent numbers of COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, are now moving through.

And local hawk sites will be enjoying good numbers of migrants, especially BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and BALD EAGLES, in the next week or two with the right winds.

A pelagic trip to Hudson Canyon, leaving 10:30 PM on Friday, October 24 from Freeport aboard the Captain Lou Fleet’s Starstream VIII, will spend Saturday well offshore and return Saturday evening. The cost is $235, and the trip is about half full. Please call the Captain Lou’s office at 516-623-5823 for reservations.

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