New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York CIty Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 22, 2015:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May 22, 2015
* NYNY1505.22

- Birds Mentioned

LITTLE EGRET+
MISSISSIPPI KITE+
BAR-TAILED GODWIT+
RUFF+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Sooty Shearwater
Whimbrel
Red Knot
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Philadelphia Vireo
Gray-cheeked Thrush
BICKNELL’S THRUSH
Lawrence’s Warbler (hybrid)
Tennessee Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Nelson’s Sparrow
SUMMER TANAGER
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, May 22 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are LITTLE EGRET, BAR-TAILED GODWIT, MISSISSIPPI KITE, RUFF, WESTERN TANAGER, BLACK-HEADED GULL, BICKNELL’S THRUSH, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and spring warblers.

A great find Wednesday afternoon was a breeding-plumaged LITTLE EGRET in the marsh at Gardiner County Park in Bay Shore, Suffolk County—if accepted by NYSARC, this will be an overdue first record for New York State. Fortunately the egret continued at that location through Thursday, though flying out around 6 pm, but unfortunately there were no positive reports from today. As it would still be worth checking, Gardiner County Park is located on the south side of Route 27A about ¾ miles east of the Robert Moses Causeway.

Another exceptional bird was a winter-plumaged European subspecies of BAR-TAILED GODWIT spotted Saturday afternoon on the unusually expansive new-moon-induced mud flats located south of the former West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The bird soon relocated with accompanying shorebirds to an offshore island in the bay and then suddenly took flight with a small flock and headed east very purposefully. A later search of the bay by boat did not relocate the Godwit but did uncover a WHIMBREL and a good number of RED KNOTS plus the expected shorebird species.

A very brief sighting of an adult MISSISSIPPI KITE around mid-day Saturday up in Sterling Forest State Park in Orange County is one more reason to keep looking up.

A male RUFF in changing plumage visited a wetland in the northwestern corner of Staten Island last Saturday and Sunday, this near the Chelsea Road and Bloomfield Avenue intersection.

The female WESTERN TANAGER made a brief reappearance in Prospect Park last Saturday, seen previously on the 12th.

Somewhat unseasonal and always a good find was an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL spotted on the Plum Beach flats in Brooklyn at mid-day Tuesday.

Otherwise the local parks have been enjoying a nice variety of spring birds, but numbers have definitely not been overwhelming.

SUMMER TANAGERS were spotted in Central Park, this a continuing bird, as well as in Prospect Park and in Forest Park, Queens, last weekend and at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Sunday.

BLUE GROSBEAKS included one at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Sunday and one in Prospect Park through today.

Another highlight has been the few BICKNELL’S THRUSHES that have been vocalizing as they move through recently. This bird, which probably looks more like a Hermit Thrush than a Gray-cheeked but calls like a Gray-cheeked and sings similarly as well except for its rising terminal phrase, has been in Central, Prospect and Forest Parks as well as up in Rye during the week. A decent number of GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES have also been present.

Flycatchers too, especially the Empidonax, have been arriving in reasonable numbers, fortunately often singing or calling once they’ve gotten this far north in their migration. This week ALDER, ACADIAN, and YELLOW-BELLIED were all noted in and beyond the city parks, and a few OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS have also been moving through.

A couple of PHILADELPHIA VIREOS have been reported, and warbler variety continues but has been decreasing somewhat. Single CERULEAN WARBLERS were found in Central Park and Prospect Park last Sunday, and other notable species have included TENNESSEE, BAY-BREASTED, CAPE MAY, HOODED and WILSON’S, while MOURNING WARBLERS have appeared in most parks, with at least four in Forest Park Wednesday. A KENTUCKY WARBLER was at Sunken Meadow State Park Tuesday.

Both YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS are currently present, some BLACK SKIMMERS have arrived, and two NELSON’S SPARROWS were at Plum Beach in Brooklyn Thursday. Coastal sea watching, slow so far, did produce a SOOTY SHEARWATER last Saturday. A hybrid LAWRENCE’S WARBLER was at the Warhol Estate in Montauk Sunday.

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