New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 5, 2016:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 5, 2016
* NYNY1608.05

- Birds Mentioned

Piping Plover
Red Knot
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
WILSON’S PHALAROPE
GULL-BILLED TERN
CASPIAN TERN
BLACK TERN
Roseate Tern
Royal Tern
Black-billed Cuckoo
Acadian Flycatcher
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
BLUE GROSBEAK
Orchard Oriole

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, August 5, 2016 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are WILSON’S PHALAROPE, GULL-BILLED, CASPIAN and BLACK TERNS, and BLUE GROSBEAK.

A not terribly dynamic week was brightened by the one day appearance of a WILSON’S PHALAROPE Monday at the fairly full dune pools at Jones Beach West End; these ponds, located between West End parking field 2 and the Roosevelt Nature Center, also produced 5 STILT SANDPIPERS plus other expected shorebirds in moderate numbers.

With the water level on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge also fairly high all week, there have also been lower numbers of shorebirds than desired for this time of year. A PECTORAL SANDPIPER quickly visited the north end of the pond last Saturday and up to 9 STILT SANDPIPERS were also on the pond early this week, usually at the north end, where there is relatively little edge, so be careful if visiting there. Also at the Bay, a GULL-BILLED TERN visited the marsh south of the former West Pond last Saturday, when an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was also still being heard south of the blind at Big John’s Pond. A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was a highlight this Wednesday.

Out at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Saturday a decent collection of 18 species of shorebirds on the flats north of the parking lot featured 2 STILTS and 3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS and 15 RED KNOTS, as well as a ROSEATE TERN, and a BLACK TERN was the only reward for an ocean watch there.

One or 2 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were present with other shorebirds at Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach from Saturday to Wednesday, when 2 ROYAL TERNS were spotted along the shore. A PIPING PLOVER has also been lingering there.

A CASPIAN TERN was reported Wednesday from Oakwood Beach northeast of Great Kills Park on Staten Island.

A BLUE GROSBEAK was still present Monday around the fields and grasslands at the former Grumman Airport in Calverton near the intersection of Line Road and Grumman Boulevard.

Some non-seasonal passerines have been showing up in local parks recently. Among these, the LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES and ORCHARD ORIOLES are presumably genuine southbound migrants, while the NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES will probably linger for awhile, and others occurring like BLUE-WINGED, BLACK-AND-WHITE, MAGNOLIA and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS are more likely floaters, just the early vanguard of things to come.

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