New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 19, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 19, 2016
* NYNY1608.19

- Birds mentioned

BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Virginia Rail
SORA
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
BLACK-HEADED GULL
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
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Canada Warbler
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 19th 2016 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are BRIDLED TERN, BLACK-HEADED GULL, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, GULL-BILLED TERN, CASPIAN TERN, SORA and a nice variety of warblers including GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER and KENTUCKY WARBLER.

Exceptional this week was a handsome adult BRIDLED TERN that came in to roost at the very celebrated tern colony on Great Gull Island last Saturday evening presumably heading back out to sea soon thereafter. Great Gull is located at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound and northeast of Orient Point and Plum Island.

What was presumably the same sub-adult BLACK-HEADED GULL that had been present on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge back on the 7th was spotted again last Sunday out in Jamaica Bay by a kayaker birding the bay's islands. Also seen out there were an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER with a flock of Black-bellied Plovers and 2 GULL-BILLED and 7 ROYAL TERNS. Back on the East Pond at the refuge two MARBLED GODWITS appeared at the north end on Wednesday and Thursday morning 3 were present near Deadman's Cove. Hopefully these will remain for the Shorebird Festival on Saturday. A decent number of shorebirds on the East Pond last Sunday included a couple of female WESTERN SANDPIPERS along with a PECTORAL, 5 plus WHITE-RUMPED and 7 STILT SANDPIPERS. Good numbers of shorebirds have remained there through the week. A SORA continues its brief appearances along the East Pond's northwestern edge and a BLACK TERN has been seen sporadically since Saturday at the north end where 2 CASPIAN TERNS, an adult with a juvenile, also visited yesterday. On Wednesday 2 CASPIAN TERNS, perhaps the same two, were spotted at Piermont Pier in Rockland County.

At Jones Beach West End 17 species of shorebirds noted Thursday featured STILT, PECTORAL and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS in the dune pools between the Roosevelt Nature Center and the West End 2 parking lot. Also spotted along the edge of these ponds were a SORA and 1 or 2 VIRGINIA RAILS Thursday and this morning.

A report from Staten Island last Sunday mentioned a very brief visit by an HUDSONIAN GODWIT to the beach at Wolfe's Pond Park in the late afternoon.

On eastern Long Island 2 WHIMBREL were present Saturday on the ocean side at Tiana Beach off Dune Road west of the Ponquogue Bridge and 2 or 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were on the same beach through the weekend.

A quite decent number of migrants occurred in the region this week. Many arriving Wednesday and Thursday. Among the non-passerines have been the first few COMMON NIGHTHAWKS and both YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS. Among the passerines have been CLIFF SWALLOW and BANK SWALLOWS and some RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BOBOLINKS plus an array of reported flycatchers including single YELLOW-BELLIED and ALDER from Prospect Park and OLIVE-SIDED and ACADIAN in Central Park though as a caveat, in the Fall the empidonax group will seldom provide the appropriate vocalizations to confirm identity.

The variety of warblers reported for the week was rather impressive, about 23 species. The southbound movement does seem to be getting earlier each year. For the more unusual species no details were provided for a KENTUCKY reported last Saturday in Central Park where MOURNING has also been noted and a female GOLDEN-WINGED visited Prospect Park today as did a CAPE MAY. Others, generally in low numbers have included OVENBIRD, WORM-EATING, both LOUISIANA and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES the former getting scarce now, BLUE-WINGED, NASHVILLE, HOODED, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BLACKBURNIAN, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, PRAIRIE, CANADA and even one or two YELLOW-RUMPED plus the more widespread BLACK-AND-WHITE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, AMERICAN REDSTART and YELLOW.

The beginning of the hawk season is also upon us so enjoy visiting a local hawk watch site.

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