New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 18, 2015:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep. 18, 2015
* NYNY1509.18

- Birds mentioned

Cory's Shearwater
Broad-winged Hawk
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Long-billed Dowitcher
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
PHILADELPHIA VIREO
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Worm-eating Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Tennessee Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
Orchard Oriole

HYBRIDS:
Lawrence's Warbler (Blue-winged X Golden-winged Warbler)

- 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, September 18th 2015 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are Fall migrants including BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, CONNECTICUT WARBLER, DICKCISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and LARK SPARROW.

The recent consistently similar weather pattern has expectedly produced a diminishing amount of migratory movement but some interesting birds continue to be found.

On the warbler side a male GOLDEN-WINGED was spotted Tuesday at Robert Moses State Park followed by an immature PROTHONOTARY at Sunken Meadow State Park Wednesday. CONNECTICUT WARBLERS were noted at Kissena Park Corridor in Queens Monday and Tuesday and at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn and Alley Pond Environmental Center on Wednesday. Quite amazing was another CONNECTICUT WARBLER picked out at night back on the 11th as it circled with a huge mass of birds attracted to the 9/11 Memorial light display in lower Manhattan. Overall these lights brought in close to 6,000 or more disoriented passerines. The CONNECTICUT actually hitting a building but ultimately flying off. The YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was at Jones Beach West End last weekend with 2 at Kissena Park on Wednesday. The anticipated variety of warblers recently has also included WORM-EATING WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER and WILSON'S WARBLER, also a male LAWRENCE'S hybrid in Rye on Wednesday.

A few PHILADELPHIA VIREOS have begun showing up coastally and in local parks but do continue to be aware of the confusing yellowish form of Fall Warbling Vireos. Several DICKCISSELS have been noted lately mostly along the coast often calling as they move around. Sites reporting DICKCISSEL this week have included Robert Moses State Park with 3 noted Tuesday, Captree, Jones Beach West End, Coney Island Creek and Sands Point on the north shore of Long Island. A BLUE GROSBEAK was found in Prospect Park last Saturday and 2 were at Kissena Park Tuesday.

Sparrows featured single CLAY-COLOREDS at Pelham Bay Park Monday and Robert Moses State Park Thursday and today and a LARK SPARROW was spotted at Captree State Park Tuesday with another at Moses today.

The sod fields off Route 105 north of Riverhead last Saturday still contained 10 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and 2 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS. Single GOLDENS were noted at Heckscher State Park Saturday, Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday and at Jones Beach West End Monday and 2 BUFF-BREASTEDS continued off Bridge Lane in Cutchogue to Saturday. Two BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS were in the pools between Jones Beach West End field 2 and the Roosevelt Nature Center Sunday and Monday and shorebirds out on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Saturday featured a WHIMBREL and 2 WILSON'S PHALAROPES. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER joined 2 STILT SANDPIPERS and other shorebirds in the Captree Island marsh last Saturday.

Among the scattered LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS along Long Island's south shore were 11 in the Jones Beach West End lot 2 last Saturday. Recent terns included a GULL-BILLED TERN still at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's East Pond last Saturday and up to 3 CASPIAN TERNS at Jones Beach West End and Robert Moses State Park during the week with 2 also at Captree Island last Saturday and singles at Great Kills Park Saturday and Mecox Sunday. Some coastal ROYAL TERNS included 9 at Cupsogue Saturday and 2 or 3 in Brooklyn recently between Floyd Bennett Field and Plumb Beach. Scattered BLACK TERNS peaked with about a dozen at Nickerson Beach last Sunday.

CORY'S SHEARWATERS continue to occur out east off Long Island's south shore including 10 off Sagg Pond and 8 off Mecox last Sunday.

Some BROAD-WINGED HAWK movement has occurred during the week at regional hawkwatches and should increase if the winds were ever to improve.

Among the other recent migrants this week have been COMMON NIGHTHAWK, both BLACK-BILLED and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, OLIVE-SIDED and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and a late ORCHARD ORIOLE at Jones Beach West End 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