New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 1, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* June 1, 2018
* NYNY1806.01

- Birds Mentioned

PACIFIC LOON+
MISSISSIPPI KITE+
WHITE-WINGED DOVE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Brant
EURASIAN WIGEON
Common Eider
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Sooty Shearwater
CATTLE EGRET
WHIMBREL
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Roseate Tern
Black Skimmer
Red-headed Woodpecker
Acadian Flycatcher
Gray-cheeked Thrush
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Mourning Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Henslow’s Sparrow
SUMMER TANAGER
BLUE GROSBEAK

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, June 1, 2018 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are MISSISSIPPI KITE, PACIFIC LOON, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, EURASIAN WIGEON, WHIMBREL, CATTLE EGRET, PROTHONOTARY and YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and more.

Marking pretty much the end of spring migration, punctuated by an estimated 720,000 warblers moving past a Quebec site along the St. Lawrence Seaway Monday, this week did produce some interesting sightings locally.

Two local MISSISSIPPI KITES involved one flying over Northwest Harbor in the town of East Hampton last Saturday afternoon and a sub-adult soaring over Hempstead Lake State Park Monday morning. Watch for them almost anywhere.

Also on Monday morning, among a few RED-THROATED and COMMON LOONS well out in the Atlantic off Nickerson Beach was a Loon studied with difficulty due to the distance and conditions that was judged to be a PACIFIC LOON in changing plumage. It unfortunately soon disappeared, but Nickerson also provided some other nice birds around the Tern and BLACK SKIMMER colonies on Monday, including single CASPIAN and ROSEATE and two GULL-BILLED TERNS, plus two COMMON EIDER and two SOOTY SHEARWATERS offshore. At the Lido Preserve near Nickerson on Monday, among a flock of ATLANTIC BRANT was a dark individual mostly showing the characteristics of a “BLACK” BRANT.

On Wednesday at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes a WHITE-WINGED DOVE was photographed sitting on a snow fence in mid-afternoon. This park in particular and along Dune Road have produced past sightings of this species as well.

A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE along the bayside at Breezy Point last Saturday was a nice find.

A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted Monday on the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Three WHIMBREL in the swale at Jones Beach West End Sunday were also noted around the West End before and after that date, apparently hanging around. A large number of seasonal shorebirds has been present recently along south shore gathering sites.

A CATTLE EGRET was at Oakwood Beach on State Island, just northeast of Great Kills Park, at least from Monday to Wednesday.

Single ICELAND GULLS were present early in the week at Cedar Beach in Southold and at Robert Moses State Park, and decent numbers of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS continue at sites like Moses Park. Four SOOTY SHEARWATERS were off Moses Park Monday, and the activity of offshore pelagics should increase this month.

Two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still at Connetquot River State Park Wednesday.

The Forest Park water hole was still producing some nice passerines this week, with a SUMMER TANAGER and a MOURNING WARBLER there last Saturday and a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER and a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH on Tuesday.

ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS at Prospect Park to Monday and Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn last Saturday are potential nesters around those areas and should be monitored as such. Breeding birds such as the YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER at Bayard Cutting Arboretum and BLUE GROSBEAK at Calverton, while being enjoyed, should not be disturbed in these activities in any way. This also pertains to the HENSLOW’S SPARROW back now at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge in Ulster County.

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