New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 18, 2017:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 18, 2017
* NYNY1708.18

- Birds mentioned
FRANKLIN'S GULL+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
American Bittern
AMERICAN AVOCET
WHIMBREL
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
White-rumped Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Parasitic Jaeger
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Merlin
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Pine Warbler
Canada Warbler
LARK SPARROW

- 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

Compilers: Tom Burke and 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 18th 2017 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are FRANKLIN'S GULL, numerous shorebirds including AMERICAN AVOCET, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, WHIMBREL, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and LARK SPARROW and more.

A very good week for shorebird variety despite Jamaica Bay's East Pond still not providing the best conditions. But the rarity highlight was the adult-like Winter plumaged FRANKLIN'S GULL spotted Monday at the eastern end of field 2 at Robert Moses State Park. The bird, still growing in its new outer primaries, was frequenting a pool in the parking lot with other gulls including several Laughing and a few Lesser-black Backed. After a brief time the gull flew out towards the ocean and unfortunately could not be relocated. There was an uncorroborated report of a FRANKLIN'S at Jones Beach field 6 the next day.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the East Pond water levels still remain too high to be really comfortable for birders especially at the north end where visitors do need to be very careful of the muddy conditions. Nonetheless an AMERICAN AVOCET was found at the north end of the pond Wednesday and on Thursday was still a little south of Dead Man's Cove. It was not reported today but an HUDSONIAN GODWIT did appear in its place at the north end. Also on Thursday a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER visited the north end briefly until flying out with a large majority of the peeps not to return. The East Pond has also been hosting a good number of more expected shorebirds including small numbers of STILT, PECTORAL and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS and even a WESTERN SANDPIPER or two. Though a couple of Peregrines and an adult Bald Eagle have been moving the birds around quite a bit.

The annual Shorebird Festival is scheduled for Saturday the 26th.

Out at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes a good variety of shorebirds on the flats featured 2 MARBLED GODWITS last Sunday and the WHIMBREL has been a highlight there during the week along with an AMERICAN BITTERN Monday and a few ROYAL and BLACK TERNS.

To complete the shorebirds a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER stayed at Great Kills Park on Staten Island from Saturday through Wednesday with a WHIMBREL also there Saturday and another BAIRD'S visited some standing water in a parking lot from Hunter's Island at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx Tuesday. This pond at the western end of the large parking lot attracting an unusual number of expected shorebirds during the week. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was spotted on the small pond at the Sore Thumb at Oak Beach last Sunday.

Some nice shorebirds seen from a whale watching boat from Montauk on Sunday included an HUDSONIAN GODWIT passing by and 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES while seabirds included 76 CORY'S and 22 GREAT SHEARWATERS and over 150 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS. The best pelagic show however was right off Montauk Point last Saturday when birds gathered around the point included 300 CORY'S, 10 GREAT, 1 SOOTY and 7 MANX SHEARWATERS, a thousand WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS and 3 PARASITIC JAEGERS. Breezy Point Tuesday afternoon produced 64 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, a MERLIN and a PECTORAL SANDPIPER. A CASPIAN TERN was at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Thursday and a MANX SHEARWATER was off Moses Park on Monday.

A LARK SPARROW found Monday near the bend of the fisherman's access road just west of the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End was still also noted there Tuesday.

The number of warblers showing up at city parks continues to increase. Those this week including WORM-EATING, OVENBIRD, BLUE-WINGED, PINE, CHESTNUT-SIDED, CANADA, HOODED in both Central Park and Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn and a MOURNING reported from Central Park Monday.

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

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

- End transcript