New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 4, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 4, 2017
* NYNY1708.04

- Birds Mentioned

HARLEQUIN DUCK
Common Gallinule
Red Knot
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Lesser Black-backed Gull
CASPIAN TERN
Roseate Tern
Royal Tern
Cory’s Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Great Shearwater
MANX SHEARWATER
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Northern Gannet
BROWN PELICAN
LEAST BITTERN
Northern Parula
Bay-breasted Warbler


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

Compilers: Tom Burke and 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 4, 2017 at 8:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are BROWN PELICANS, seabirds including MANX SHEARWATER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, LEAST BITTERN and CASPIAN TERN.

Last Saturday especially was BROWN PELICAN day along the Atlantic Ocean shore from Robert Moses State Park to Staten Island. The day started with just a single PELICAN moving west off Robert Moses State Park Field 2 early in the morning, but this was shortly followed by another 6, also moving west. A little later 4 were spotted working slowly west off Jones Beach West End Field 2. Subsequently, 2 were seen in Raritan Bay from Staten Island and also from Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn, while even later a group of 5 was spotted both from Cedar Grove Beach and off Miller Field on Staten Island. It is possible these may have all involved the original 7 seen from Moses. On Sunday just a single BROWN PELICAN was noted moving by Moses, and 2 were still off Miller Field on Staten Island.

Other seabirds noted off Moses Park Saturday morning included 10 CORY’S, 2 GREAT and several unidentified SHEARWATERS, a WILSON’S STORM-PETREL and 4 NORTHERN GANNETS. But this gave no indication of the situation off Montauk Point Saturday, when what was described as “thousands” of SHEARWATERS were concentrated by the weather into Block Island Sound off the north side of Montauk Point. These were mostly CORY’S SHEARWATERS but also included some GREAT and SOOTY and 1 or 2 MANX SHEARWATERS plus a few WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS. On Sunday reduced numbers were still present northwest of the Point, one estimate noting 800 plus CORY’S, 10 GREAT and single SOOTY and MANX SHEARWATERS, but these all did pretty much move off during the day.

A female HARLEQUIN DUCK was spotted Thursday a little west of Montauk Point, this perhaps the same bird reported there back on July 8th.

Though the water level on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge remains much higher than it should be to accommodate the hoped for concentration of shorebirds there, last Sunday roughly 1,500 shorebirds were counted on the pond, the large majority being SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS; the others did include 6 WHITE-RUMPED, 1 WESTERN, and 4 STILT SANDPIPERS along with the arrival of the first few juvenile sandpipers.

On Tuesday 18 species of shorebirds, not enumerated, were noted on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes along with 15 ROYAL and 3 ROSEATE TERNS.

A STILT and 3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were present at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Saturday, 1 WHITE-RUMPED still there Tuesday, when a CASPIAN TERN also visited the flats there.

Along with good numbers of expected shorebirds at Jones Beach West End Saturday, including some RED KNOTS, were at least 4 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and a ROYAL TERN, while Moses Park added 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 2 ROYAL TERNS.

Six WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS were spotted from a fishing boat off Queens Sunday.

In Prospect Park at least 1 LEAST BITTERN was still present around the lake last Sunday, and a COMMON GALLINULE was reported from Massapequa Preserve Wednesday.

Landbird migrants, of which there have been a few recently, have included NORTHERN PARULA as well as 2 quite early BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS appearing in Central Park last Sunday.

To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734 4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922 and leave a message.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript