New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 5, 2015:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jun. 5, 2015
* NYNY1506.05

- Birds mentioned

AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER+
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL+
ARCTIC TERN+
SOUTH POLAR SKUA+
LONG-TAILED JAEGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Common Eider
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
White-rumped Sandpiper
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
FRANKLIN'S GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Roseate Tern
Pomarine Jaeger
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK

- 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, June 5th 2015 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are pelagic trip results including AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER, LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, LONG-TAILED JAEGER and ARCTIC TERN plus FRANKLIN'S GULL, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK.

A pelagic trip organized by See Life Paulagics aboard the Brooklyn VI departed Sheepshead Bay last Sunday evening amidst terrible rainstorms and rough seas and headed south with a boatload of concerned birders but by the time the boat had reached its destination an over 70 degree warm water Gulf Stream eddy 125 miles out towards the mouth of Hudson Canyon the seas had moderated the stars were out and a great birding day was about to begin. Well placed chum slicks in the warm water attracted good numbers of tubenoses and a few inquisitive SOUTH POLAR SKUAS the area remaining very active until it was time to head back. Even in the rough cooler waters closer in towards land there were at least 3 large shearwater feeding frenzies presumably occurring around schools of feeding Tuna and involved hundreds of birds but time and weather did not permit close scrutiny. The official trip list for the day with most species very well seen included 310 CORY'S, 70 GREAT, 465 SOOTY, 5 AUDUBON'S and 9 MANX SHEARWATERS, 26 LEACH'S and 215 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, 5 SOUTH POLAR SKUAS and 1 unidentified Skua probably also SOUTH POLAR, an adult POMARINE JAEGER and a 1 year old LONG-TAILED JAEGER and 4 or more ARCTIC TERNS. Other true highlights were a large Basking Shark jumping completely out of the water several times and a pod of Risso's Dolphins around the boat. So, despite initial reservations, the trip was very successful and a great thank you goes out to the Brooklyn VI captain and crew and to the fearless See Life Paulagics leaders.

The adult FRANKLIN'S GULL first spotted at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn on May 24th was last noted Tuesday afternoon making a brief appearance as it flew by to the east. Given its previous amorous activities with local Laughing Gulls it could still be in the area and should be looked for at Laughing Gull feeding and gathering sites. An immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Plumb Beach on Sunday.

Land bound seawatching has begun to improve. Thursday morning off Robert Moses State Park there were 1 CORY'S and 4 SOOTY SHEARWATERS. Friday morning produced 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES moving along the breakers. A few ROSEATE TERNS are also out there.

With nesting season now in full swing and especially given what seems to be an ever decreasing number of migrant breeders it becomes even more important to remember that this critical period is extremely important for our regional nesters. So please keep any disturbances to an absolute minimum. This is not only true for such local rarities as the YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale or an even more unusual PROTHONOTARY WARBLER that has recently set up a territory but also for all the declining neotropic migrants nesting in our area especially given the additional hardships created by this recent very unusual weather. BLUE GROSBEAK, another southern species slowly becoming established locally has returned to some nesting areas on eastern Long Island but the adult male Saturday at Drier-Offerman Park in Brooklyn was probably a migrant there.

An adult ARCTIC TERN was on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Saturday, 6 COMMON EIDER were spotted Wednesday near the entrance to Orient Point State Park. At Jones Beach West End shorebirds gathered on the bar off the Coast Guard Station Sunday included a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER.

The LINCOLN'S SPARROW was still in Bryant Park in Manhattan on Thursday.

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