New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 14, 2015:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 14, 2015
* NYNY1508.14

- Birds mentioned

Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Little Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Piping Plover
AMERICAN AVOCET
Solitary Sandpiper
WHIMBREL
MARBLED GODWIT
White-rumped Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Swainson's Thrush
Blue-winged Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Prairie Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler
BLUE GROSBEAK
Bobolink

- 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, August 14th 2015 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are shorebirds including AMERICAN AVOCET, MARBLED GODWIT, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, WHIMBREL, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and landbirds including YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK.

Hurray! The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge has now reached a point where it is attracting both decent numbers of birds and a few rarities.

A winter plumaged male AMERICAN AVOCET was found Wednesday around mid-pond and it was still present today along the western shore of the north end a little below Dead Man's Cove. Other unusual birds joining it today were a MARBLED GODWIT this morning that after awhile flew east and a WILSON'S PHALAROPE around midday in the northwest corner that was later seen just below the Raunt. A shorebird species total of 17 also featured 2 STILT, 6 PECTORAL and some WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS. Also today were 2 continuing GULL-BILLED TERNS and an immature BALD EAGLE plus an harassing PEREGRINE FALCON or two. Back on Wednesday a PIPING PLOVER was an interesting visitor to the pond and reports from last Saturday featured a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE seen with peeps circling but not sitting down at the south end early on and a WHIMBREL flying over the north end late in the day. Arriving ducks on the pond include BLUE-WINGED TEAL and GREEN-WINGED TEAL and NORTHERN SHOVELER, a few immature LITTLE BLUE HERONS are among the gathered herons and a BLACK TERN visited Wednesday.

Remember, the East Pond is at its best during the high tide period and it's still quite sloppy for walking on.

Plumb Beach in Brooklyn has also been producing some nice birds. A second BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, this an unusually early juvenile, appeared there last Sunday. This was followed by an adult LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER seen in the marsh on Tuesday and then a MARBLED GODWIT visiting there this afternoon. A couple of ROYAL TERNS were also there mid-week.

Highlights at Fort Tilden Tuesday were 7 WHIMBREL flying by and 2 BLACK TERNS in the gull, tern and skimmer assemblage.

A notable increase among the landbirds species in the parks began last Saturday with a good one when a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was spotted in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and the bird also noted on Sunday around the Peninsula. Like Prospect Manhattan's Central Park has also seen a notable increase in migrant variety though as it is still early numbers are expectedly small. A most unexpected bird was probably the GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER seen at the north end Wednesday this one of 20 plus species of warblers locally that have featured BLUE-WINGED, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, CHESTNUT-SIDED, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACKBURNIAN, PRAIRIE, WORM-EATING, LOUISIANA and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, HOODED and CANADA WARBLERS. Even early YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen on the outer beach today. Also in Central this week were 2 BLACK VULTURES, BALD EAGLE, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, SWAINSON'S THRUSH and BOBOLINK.

Some LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS have featured up to 10 at Jones Beach West End field 2 and one Thursday at Fort Washington Park Boat Marina at the end of Dyckman Street in northern Manhattan.

Minimal reports from eastern Long Island this week do include lingering BLUE GROSBEAK at the former Grumman airport grasslands in Calverton and one or two WHIMBREL back at Cedar Beach County Park in Southold this a favored location in Fall.

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