New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 25, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* May 25, 2018
* NYNY1805.25

- Birds Mentioned

RUFF+
ARCTIC TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Black-bellied Plover
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
WHIMBREL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
BLACK TERN
Roseate Tern
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
PHILADELPHIA VIREO
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Bicknell’s Thrush
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
KENTUCKY WARBLER
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
SUMMER TANAGER
BLUE GROSBEAK
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, May 25, 2018 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are RUFF, ARCTIC, GULL-BILLED and BLACK TERNS, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, WHIMBREL, PROTHONOTARY, YELLOW-THROATED and KENTUCKY WARBLERS, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL, LARK and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and more.

An interesting week, even as spring migration starts to wind down. A great find Tuesday afternoon was the RUFF spotted around the temporary pools at Field 7 in Heckscher State Park. Sporting a mostly blackish plumage with some brownish highlights, the RUFF on Wednesday drifted between Fields 6 and 7, generally with some BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, but seemed to move on overnight. Another highlight for those watching the RUFF early Wednesday was a calling DICKCISSEL passing overhead to the west. A CACKLING GOOSE with a small flock of CANADA GEESE was also very unexpected there Wednesday.

Another good find was an ARCTIC TERN nicely photographed last Saturday on the flats at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn; it disappeared soon thereafter, but a ROSEATE TERN there hung around longer. Another adult ARCTIC TERN was photographed Wednesday near the tern and BLACK SKIMMER colonies at Nickerson Beach west of Point Lookout. Nickerson also produced three GULL-BILLED TERNS Tuesday, plus two ROSEATE TERNS Wednesday and a BLACK TERN Thursday. Other GULL-BILLED TERNS were reported from Robert Moses State Park last Saturday and Plumb Beach Thursday.

An ICELAND GULL Saturday at Robert Moses State Park was in company with the week’s largest count of LESSER BLACK- BACKED GULLS, with 38 estimated between parking lots 2 and 5 and along the ocean beach.

Most notable among the increasing numbers of shorebirds gathering mostly along the Atlantic inlets were an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER reported from the marsh off the Lido Passive Sanctuary on the north side of Lido Boulevard last Sunday and a count of 32 WHIMBRELS flying north past Great Kills Park on Staten Island Wednesday.

Interesting among the WOODPECKERS, two RED-HEADEDS were seen together Thursday at Connetquot River State Park and a PILEATED WOODPECKER was spotted today at Caumsett State Park.

Despite declining WARBLER numbers and species totals, a decent mix continues, highlighted by a PROTHONOTARY in Central Park to Monday, a KENTUCKY there Sunday, an increase in the numbers of the later moving MOURNING, and the continuation of some CAPE MAY, BAY-BREASTED and the like. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER is presumably nesting in Bayard Cutting Arboretum, so please do nothing that would disturb this very rare breeder in our area.

That also pertains to such species as SUMMER TANAGER and BLUE GROSBEAK. Migrant SUMMER TANAGERS featured two in Central Park Tuesday and adult males found at Breezy Point last Sunday, on Governors Island on Monday, and in Prospect Park Wednesday. A BLUE GROSBEAK also visited Governors Island last Sunday.

A LARK SPARROW found last Friday at Shore Road Park in Brooklyn was still being seen there through Sunday, and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was photographed in Brooklyn’s Green-wood Cemetery on Wednesday.

Interesting this spring have been the frequency of reports of PHILADELPHIA VIREO, usually sparse as a spring migrant here – Central Park has reported a few to Tuesday, and one was nicely photographed in Prospect Park on Wednesday.

The THRUSHES have been well represented, with singing BICKNELL’S THRUSHES reported last Sunday from Central and Forest Parks as well as at Coney Island Creek Park. GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES have also been widely noted.

All ten species of eastern FLYCATCHERS were recorded this week, including several OLIVE-SIDED and a few YELLOW-BELLIED, ALDER and ACADIAN.

Both YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS have also been noted in increasing numbers.

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