New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 22, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sept. 22, 2017
* NYNY1709.22

- Birds Mentioned

FRANKLIN’S GULL+
SOOTY TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Sora
Common Gallinule
AMERICAN AVOCET
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
WILSON’S PHALAROPE
Parasitic Jaeger
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
Laughing Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Cory’s Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Red-headed Woodpecker
Philadelphia Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL

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, September 22, 2017 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are reports of SOOTY TERN and FRANKLIN’S GULL, such shorebirds as AMERICAN AVOCET, HUDSONIAN GODWIT and WILSON’S PHALAROPE, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, GOLDEN-WINGED and CONNECTICUT WARBLERS, LARK and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, DICKCISSEL and more.

Although former Hurricane Jose has lingered offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, impacting our weather for several days, it has not produced much of interest as far as southern vagrants are concerned. With otherwise no unusual seabirds noted from Cape May to Cape Cod, quite unexpected was the report of an immature SOOTY TERN moving by Midland Beach on Staten Island Wednesday morning in a group of COMMON TERNS. A high count of 241 ROYAL TERNS was also noted there. More typical of Jose were coastal counts such as at Robert Moses State Park Wednesday that featured some CORY’S SHEARWATERS and 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS.

A good find on the north shore of Long Island was a FRANKLIN’S GULL described Wednesday at Cedar Beach in Miller Place east of Port Jefferson, sitting in with a large group of LAUGHING GULLS.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge an AMERICAN AVOCET continues to visit the East Pond through today, though it does disappear occasionally, perhaps just moving down below Dead Man’s Cove for a while, as it does spend most of its time at the north end. On Thursday an HUDSONIAN GODWIT hung out at the north end near Dead Man’s Cove, along with 6 STILT, 6 WHITE-RUMPED and single PECTORAL and WESTERN SANDPIPERS, plus 3 CASPIAN TERNS. Earlier in the week on the East Pond a WILSON’S PHALAROPE visited on Sunday, 29 STILT SANDPIPERS were counted Saturday, and on Monday and Tuesday a SORA was seen at the south end.

Out at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes a sea watch last Sunday featured an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, along with 15 CORY’S SHEARWATERS, 6 NORTHEN GANNETS, 3 PARASITIC JAEGERS, 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 24 ROYAL and 19 BLACK TERNS. At Mecox Inlet the same day were 20 CORY’S SHEARWATERS and 7 BLACK TERNS.

Along the city coasts there were single AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS at Plumb Beach Tuesday and Coney Island Park Wednesday, Plumb Beach also adding a CASPIAN TERN Tuesday and Wednesday and 17 ROYAL TERNS Wednesday, while on Thursday Breezy Point produced 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS along with 2 CASPIAN TERNS and 3 ROYAL TERNS.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS on Wednesday included 13 at Jones Beach West End and 12 at Robert Moses State Park, and 7 BLACK TERNS were counted at Jones Beach Field 6 Tuesday.

An ICELAND GULL was seen again at Smith Point County Park last Saturday, joined by a WHIMBREL and 13 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS.

Up to 9 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS have been counted recently at their roost along Santapogue Creek off Venetian Boulevard in West Babylon.

A COMMON GALLINULE was found recently at Mill Pond Park north of Route 27 in Bellmore.

Single adult and immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were spotted in Central Park last Sunday.

Wednesday produced a few reports of CONNECTICUT WARBLERS, including singles in Kissena Park and Calvert Vaux Park and 2 in Central Park, with 1 in Alley Pond Park today, while last Saturday male and female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS were spotted in Alley Pond Park. Other WARBLERS continue to feature such species as MOURNING, WORM-EATING, CAPE MAY, and HOODED.

PHILADELPHIA VIREOS during the week were reported from Central Park and Prospect Park, Greenwood Cemetery, Owl’s Head Park, the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center and Fuch’s Pond Preserve in Northport.

A LARK SPARROW was spotted at Cedar Grove Beach on Staten Island Tuesday, CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS were reported from Floyd Bennett Field Saturday and Montauk Point Sunday, and a DICKCISSEL flew by Robert Moses State Park Saturday, with singles at Jones Beach West End and Owl’s Head Park today.

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