New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 14, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 14, 2017
* NYNY1704.14

- Birds Mentioned

TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Trumpeter Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Common Gallinule
SANDHILL CRANE
Solitary Sandpiper
WHIMBREL
Short-billed Dowitcher
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Least Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
House Wren
Black-and-white Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Northern Parula
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
SUMMER TANAGER
BLUE GROSBEAK
Indigo Bunting
DICKCISSEL
House Sparrow

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
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, April 14, 2017 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, SANDHILL CRANE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, KING EIDER, WHIMBREL, YELLOW-THROATED and PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, DICKCISSEL, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and other spring migrants.

To review some lingering rarities first, the TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE was last reported Saturday near blue house #1625 North Sea Drive in Southold, and the Wainscott Pond SANDHILL CRANE was noted as recently as Tuesday. A female KING EIDER was present again off Orient Point Sunday, and the BLACK-HEADED GULL was still at Sagg Pond on Tuesday.

But it’s the early spring arrivals that now attract most of the attention. A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER visited Prospect Park last weekend, followed by 1 in Central Park’s Ramble on Wednesday. Unusual by location was a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER staying near the Salt Marsh Nature Center building in Brooklyn’s Marine Park Wednesday to today, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT worked its way around the parking lot at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last Saturday.

Other Warblers first appearing this week have included NORTHERN PARULA last Friday, BLACK-AND-WHITE Monday, BLACK-THROATED GREEN and PRAIRIE Wednesday and WILSON’S today.

A DICKCISSEL has been visiting residential Massapequa, staying with HOUSE SPARROWS around a yard at the corner of Fox Boulevard and Baldwin Road, often in bushes next to a sideways lying basketball hoop. If visiting there, please respect the neighbors and act appropriately.

Various TERNS have begun arriving, and notable was a GULL-BILLED on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Wednesday. A CASPIAN TERN was reported at Orient Point Saturday and is expected now, but more unusual were a few early ROYAL TERNS, with photos of 1 at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday and 2 more at Mecox Bay Tuesday. Both FORSTER’S and LEAST TERNS were also reported as of Wednesday.

A WHIMBREL was still around Sagg Pond Saturday, and one was found at Timber Point in Great River around the East Marina Monday and was still there Wednesday.

A GLAUCOUS GULL visited Central Park Reservoir Monday and Tuesday, ICELAND GULLS were noted in Brooklyn at various sites during the week and also at Oak Beach Saturday, and a few LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS are still around.

A CATTLE EGRET in lower Manhattan has been lingering since Tuesday and apparently earlier at least through today in a small grassy area along the north side of 28th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Other HERONS have featured the arrival of GREEN HERON Saturday as well as a TRICOLORED HERON at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye yesterday and today.

A EURASIAN WIGEON was at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 Monday.

Continuing RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were noted at Central Park, Kissena Park, Hendrickson Park and Caumsett State Park as well as a couple of other locations.

Among the passerines, a belated report mentions a female SUMMER TANAGER photographed last Friday in Suffolk County on private property at King’s Park, and a male BLUE GROSBEAK arrived at Jones Beach West End east of the toll booth today.

An EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL was found injured at 38th Street and 6th Avenue last Friday, and a list of other recent arrivals includes SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER Thursday, SOLITARY SANDPIPER Sunday, CHIMNEY SWIFT Saturday, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Tuesday, WHITE-EYED VIREO Saturday and BLUE-HEADED VIREO Monday, BANK and CLIFF SWALLOWS Saturday, HOUSE WREN Tuesday and INDIGO BUNTING Saturday.

North of us a TRUMPETER SWAN has been near the main boat ramp since Wednesday at Bashakill, in Sullivan County, where COMMON GALLINULE is also back.

To phone in reports call Tom Burke weekdays 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