New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 9, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep. 9, 2016
* NYNY1609.09

- Birds mentioned
BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
BROWN BOOBY+
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER+
SANDWICH TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cory's Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Northern Gannet
American Golden-Plover
Hudsonian Godwit
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Common Nighthawk
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Philadelphia Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Dickcissel

- 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 9th 2016 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are Hermine related specialties like BLACK-CAPPED PETREL and much more.

Many of this week's big sightings were provided by Tropical Storm Hermine as birders on Monday staked out various coastal locations along the south shore of Long Island. As is often the case with these storms the farther east the better for unusual species. Observation conditions were generally far from ideal with birds often distant and constantly disappearing into huge wave troughs making positive identification a definite challenge.

Quite unique from shore and unexpected were Monday reports of BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS from one early off Amagansett to one just after noon off Shinnecock Inlet. As noted by the observers identifications mainly relied on general impressions of plumage and flight characteristics but given the 16 BLACK-CAPPEDS reported just a week earlier, though 140 miles out on the ocean, a storm relocation certainly could be possible.

Three other very intriguing Monday reports from single observers involved species that, especially under those conditions, could be an identification challenge, given the presence of very similar and more expected species. Mentioned were a BROWN BOOBY off Southampton, a POMARINE JAEGER off Jones Beach and a SANDWICH TERN off Fort Tilden. Hopefully NYSARC reports will be provided for review.

The shearwaters seen were much more expected though the few SOOTY SHEARWATERS noted from Tiana Beach east to Amagansett would be considered somewhat late. CORY'S SHEARWATERS were the most frequently noted with 16 earlier off Mecox and others east to Amagansett and west to Tiana Beach and MANX SHEARWATER put on a pleasant run with peaks of 4 both off Shinnecock Inlet and Tiana Beach. Many unidentified shearwaters were also seen. But it was interesting that no STORM-PETRELs were noted.

Decent numbers of PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen as far west as Jones Beach though most again were out east. Singles at various sites culminated with 6 late in the day off Tiana Beach one robbing a ROYAL TERN catch and a late push of 5 including a striking dark individual.

A good number of BLACK TERNS also occurred with the mostly Common Terns along the shore including around 20 off Tiana Beach where 5 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were roosting in the parking lot these following a fresh juvenile LESSER BLACK-BACKED on the beach there earlier. A late COMMON NIGHTHAWK and an early BAIRD'S SANDPIPER were other Tiana highlights and some NORTHERN GANNETS were also participating in the Monday flight.

Also presumably storm related were an immature SANDWICH TERN appearing on Great Gull Island Wednesday and an HUDSONIAN GODWIT visiting Mecox Bay Tuesday and Wednesday. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE also appeared in the dune pools at Jones Beach West End Wednesday and 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were in the swale later that day.

On the Riverhead sod fields AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS reached 70 plus along Osborn Avenue just south of Sound Avenue last Saturday with a peak on 10 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS there including one that was earlier that day 4 miles east along the Route 105 and Doctor's Path fields. The latter had about 30 Goldens and 2 Baird's Saturday and other Baird's included 2 at Breezy Point and one at Sagg Pond Monday. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS also included two at Nickerson Beach and singles at Miller Place in Mecox Saturday.

There have been widely scattered lists of BLACK-BACKED GULLS, CASPIAN TERN and ROYAL TERN.

Among the passerines a male GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER visited Central Park Saturday, a female on Sunday and a CONNECTICUT WARBLER was on that park's east side on Tuesday. Other warblers have featured BAY-BREASTED, CAPE MAY, WORM-EATING and HOODED and PHILADELPHIA VIREO was noted in Central last weekend. Prospect Park highlights have included OLIVE-SIDED, YELLOW-BELLIED and ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS plus an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER Thursday and a DICKCISSEL was photographed at Robert Moses State Park Thursday.

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