New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 16, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jun. 17, 2016
* NYNY1606.17

- Birds mentioned
GARGANEY+ (extralimital in Seneca County)
WHITE-FACED IBIS+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Gadwall
Greater Scaup
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Virginia Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Parasitic Jaeger
Gull-billed Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Merlin
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Common Raven
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Grasshopper Sparrow
Blue Grosbeak
Pine Siskin

- 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 17th 2016 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE-FACED IBIS, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, GULL-BILLED TERN, BLACK TERN, PARASITIC JAEGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and an extralimital GARGANEY.

As the Summer season settles in excitement continues at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. A WHITE-FACED IBIS has maintained its seemingly unpredictable visits to the south end of the East Pond Thursday evening. Sitting in among the many Glossy Ibis that continue to cycle into and out of the pond. On Saturday a WILSON'S PHALAROPE was also spotted on the East Pond and was present around the Raunt on Sunday but not seen thereafter. Young BARN OWLS can periodically be seen in the nest box that is across Big John's Pond as viewable from the bird blind. Please do not do anything to disturb these birds. Waiting patiently in the blind will ultimately provide pleasing views of the young owls. Also at Jamaica Bay a GULL-BILLED TERN has, as in past years, been appearing along the marsh and beach south of the former West Pond. Hopefully at some point we can stop saying "former" if restoration were ever to begin. An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was also singing along the Big John's Pond trail last Sunday and later.

Other recent tern sightings include a BLACK TERN at Nickerson Beach Wednesday and single ROYAL TERNS at Great Kills Park and Shinnecock Inlet Saturday with 3 at Jones Beach West End Tuesday. Two PARASITIC JAEGERS were also reported off Shinnecock Inlet Saturday. Though seawatching generally has not been very productive lately though it should be rewarding with the appropriate winds.

Also out east two BLUE GROSBEAKS were still present Tuesday around the southwest end of the former Grumman airport in Calverton. This area also home for numerous GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and other grassland birds. A very valuable but rapidly declining habitat in our region certainly worthy of preservation.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was reported Wednesday flying along the median at the western end of Robert Moses State Park and another continues at Muscoot Farm in northern Westchester County.

The Greenwich-Stamford Summer Bird Count including much of eastern Westchester County recorded an average 135 species last weekend. New for the count was a MERLIN in Chappaqua. The 243rd species all time for this 41 year old endeavor. Other highlights featured 10 species of waterfowl including GADWALL, GREATER SCAUP and HOODED and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 3 BLACK VULTURES, nesting BALD EAGLE, at least 6 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, a few VIRGINIA RAILS, 10 species of shorebirds including SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and SANDPIPER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, SANDERLING and DUNLIN, a BLACK SKIMMER, both cuckoos at least 12 BARRED OWLS, 4 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS, two ALDER FLYCATCHERS, over a dozen COMMON RAVENS, 14 species of warblers including HOODED and MOURNING and a feeder visiting PINE SISKIN.

For those who may somehow not have heard, a drake GARGANEY has been present since at least June 5th at the Knox-Marsellus Marsh part of the Montezuma NWR just west of the town of Montezuma in Seneca County. The duck is mostly seen from East Road where visibility is usually best in the afternoon. This will be a first New York record pending acceptance by NYSARC.

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