New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, July 31, 2015:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* July 31, 2015
* NYNY1507.31

- Birds Mentioned

Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Tricolored Heron
CATTLE EGRET
Piping Plover
Willet
UPLAND SANDPIPER
Whimbrel
Red Knot
STILT SANDPIPER
Short-billed Dowitcher
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
RED PHALAROPE
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Royal Tern
Least Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Grasshopper 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, July 31 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are RED and RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, CATTLE EGRET, UPLAND and STILT SANDPIPERS, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and BLUE GROSBEAK.

The nicely plumaged female RED PHALAROPE, first spotted at Jones Beach West End on Friday the 10th, was last reported late last Saturday afternoon, still on the now completely dry pools between the Roosevelt Nature Center and the West End 2 Parking Lot. Presumably dealing with less than ideal phalarope habitat due to its leg injury, the phalarope had also been seen Thursday by Short Beach next to the boat basin off the Coast Guard Station, but Sunday it could not be found at either location.

Last Sunday two RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were reported from a whale-watching boat trip out of Montauk, and also recorded were 50 CORY’S and 5 GREAT SHEARWATERS and 20 WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS.

Here in the midst of shorebird season the water level situation on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge still remains way behind schedule and is now compounded by an algae mat covering the areas that are slowly becoming exposed. Like the repairs to the West Pond, the Park Service has really dropped the ball with the East Pond, and this marvelous shorebird resource has so far effectively been unavailable for the thousands of shorebirds that annually take advantage of it. Efforts are being made to deal with the issue, but so far shorebird numbers have been minimal. The season’s first STILT SANDPIPER did appear Thursday on the East Pond, where about 250 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a few other shorebirds were also present.

One surprise at Jamaica Bay was a CATTLE EGRET, now a scarce bird regionally, that was reported yesterday near the breach on the West Pond, while a TRICOLORED HERON was noted at the Bay Wednesday.

Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes has been drawing in shorebirds recently, with last weekend providing a WHIMBREL Sunday, plus a few “WESTERN” WILLETS, increasing numbers of RED KNOTS, over 350 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, and a mix of other expected shorebirds, including the locally breeding PIPING PLOVERS. Up to 8 ROYAL TERNS were also present, as their numbers too are on the increase. Other ROYALS for the week included 2 at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn and 2 at Jones Beach West End last Sunday.

A nice shorebird find was an UPLAND SANDPIPER up on the landfill at Croton Point Park in Westchester Monday.

A walk west along the beach at Smith Point County Park in Shirley Saturday produced 4 immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS.

A BLUE GROSBEAK along with about 25 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were present at the Calverton Grasslands on the former Grumman Airport property last Saturday, again emphasizing the natural value of this resource. A pair of BLUE GROSBEAKS along with a recently fledged juvenile were found Thursday at the restricted Brookhaven National Lab property.

Some recent landbird migrants in our area have included LEAST FLYCATCHER, PURPLE MARTIN, CLIFF and BANK SWALLOWS and a few species of regionally breeding warblers.

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