New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 15, 2017

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sep. 15, 2017
* NYNY1709.15

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

AMERICAN AVOCET
American Golden-Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
White-rumped Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Philadelphia Vireo
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Tennessee Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow
SUMMER TANAGER
BLUE GROSBEAK
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

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, September 15th 2017 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are such shorebirds as AMERICAN AVOCET, RUFF, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, FRANKLIN'S GULL, WESTERN KINGBIRD, SUMMER TANAGER, DICKCISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK, LARK SPARROW, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, CONNECTICUT WARBLER and much more.

A wonderful week for variety in our area including a nice array of shorebirds though their numbers continue to diminish. Very interesting was a shorebird photographed Sunday at the Raunt at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's East Pond. The observer suggesting the bird was a female RUFF or Reeve and long distance photos taken from across the pond did not fully confirm but certainly did support the identification but unfortunately the bird could not subsequently be relocated. The East Pond did provide an AMERICAN AVOCET last Saturday and Sunday along with up to 17 STILTS, a few WESTERN and some WHITE-RUMPED and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS as well as up to 3 CASPIAN TERNS Sunday. Another AMERICAN AVOCET was seen on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes Saturday but a sod field shorebird not always seen in that habitat an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER were off Doctor's Path north of Riverhead Saturday and on Thursday 2 GOLDENS were on the Mecox Bay flats with 2 BLACK TERNS and 2 more GOLDENS were at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton with 4 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS. A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at Miller Field on Staten Island Saturday through Thursday. This location also providing a very intriguing report of a FRANKLIN'S GULL flying by there Wednesday though details were sparse. A WHIMBREL Saturday at Turtle Pond at Pelham Bay Park increased to 3 on Sunday and another was at Breezy Point Thursday. Up to 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS continue at Santapogue Creek off Venetian Boulevard in West Babylon Saturday finding them there with 5 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 3 LESSER YELLOWLEGS and over 70 GREATER YELLOWLEGS.

A CASPIAN TERN was at Jones Beach West End last Sunday with 2 at Gilgo Tuesday and 2 at Calvert Vaux Park also known as Drier-Offerman Park in Brooklyn Thursday. Among the regions ROYAL TERNS were 20 counted at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Wednesday.

A highlight among the passerines was a WESTERN KINGBIRD spotted Saturday at Robert Moses State Park and presumably the same later in flight at Cedar Beach and then on Sunday and Monday at Jones Beach West End. Much more unexpected by location was the WESTERN KINGBIRD found today at Governors Island photographed on Grassy Hill north of Overlook Hill. Governors Island is reached by ferry from lower Manhattan. Unusual seasonally were SUMMER TANAGER reports from Jones Beach West End Saturday and Pelham Bay Sunday. LARK SPARROWS featured at 2 different locations at Robert Moses State Park Saturday and 1 at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn Saturday to Monday and 1 in Central Park Sunday while single CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS were noted at Green-wood Cemetery Sunday and Monday and at Calvert Vaux Park today. BLUE GROSBEAKS occurred at Robert Moses State Park Sunday and Monday with 2 Tuesday and in the Rockaways on Monday. Following a good incursion into the northeast this summer DICKCISSELS were at Robert Moses State Park Saturday and Monday, Coney Island Creek Sunday and at Jones Beach West End and lower Manhattan on Monday the latter among the many birds pulled into the 9/11 light tribute after dark.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS appeared at Moses Park Saturday, Alley Pond Park at Oakland Lake Sunday and at Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island Wednesday and of course there were the warblers. About 28 species including single GOLDEN-WINGEDS at Alley Pond Park Saturday and Sunday and at Kissena Park Saturday. Several reports of CONNECTICUT including from Central Park, Alley Pond Park and Green-wood Cemetery. A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was noted at Jones Beach West End Saturday and even from Great Gull Island last weekend. While continuing to be seen in encouraging numbers have been CAPE MAY, TENNESSEE and BAY-BREASTED and some others, more unusual, also including a few HOODED, WILSON'S and MOURNING. Other recent passerines have featured OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and various empidonax flycatchers, PHILADELPHIA VIREO and LINCOLN'S SPARROW and get out to a local hawkwatch for hopefully the Broad-winged peak once the weather breaks.

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