New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 15, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* June 15, 2018
* NYNY1806.15

- Birds Mentioned

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

Lesser Scaup
CORY'S SHEARWATER
Sooty Shearwater
WILSON’S STORM-PETREL
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
American Woodcock
PARASITIC JAEGER
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
Black Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Peregrine Falcon
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Swainson’s Thrush
Mourning Warbler
Hooded Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
SUMMER TANAGER
BLUE GROSBEAK
Eastern Meadowlark


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 15, 2018 at 10:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are SANDWICH, ARCTIC, GULL-BILLED and other TERNS, CORY'S SHEARWATER, WILSON’S STORM-PETREL, PARASITIC JAEGER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK and more.

With much of this week’s birding efforts concentrated on coastal beaches and inlets where Terns gather, the number and variety of Terns has increased to even include a couple of SANDWICH TERNS – one was found last Saturday along Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet and the other appeared Wednesday near the Breezy Point Tip.

A few ARCTIC TERNS included two immatures on the flats at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Sunday and Monday, an adult last Sunday and again today at the Tern colony at Nickerson Beach off Lido Boulevard, and an immature at Breezy Point Tuesday and Wednesday.

Single BLACK TERNS visited Nickerson last Saturday, Breezy Point Monday and Mecox Bay today, while arriving ROYAL TERNS included three at Cupsogue last Sunday, one on Fire Island Wednesday, and two at Smith Point County Park in Shirley today, their numbers expected to increase as the summer progresses.

ROSEATE TERNS include up to five around the Nickerson colony, six at Cupsogue Sunday, and four at Mecox Bay today.

One or two GULL-BILLED TERNS continue to be seen at Nickerson, and regarding identification of immature and sub-adult Siberian race COMMON TERNS at sites like Nickerson, we can only urge extreme caution be exercised unless one is quite familiar with Siberian longipennis and nominate hirundo variations within each subspecies.

Two GULL-BILLED TERNS visited the Cedar Beach Marina last Saturday for the Captree Summer Bird Count, which recorded 127 species. Other Count highlights included two LESSER SCAUP, eight CORY’S and eight SOOTY SHEARWATERS, two RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, a gathering of birds at Democrat Point on Fire Island that featured a WHIMBREL, two PARASITIC JAEGERS and six ROSEATE TERNS, twenty-two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, one BLACK-BILLED and two YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS and a MOURNING WARBLER at mainland parks, the continuing YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER at Bayard Cutting Arboretum, and good numbers of SALTMARSH and SEASIDE SPARROWS.

A sea watch off Cupsogue County Park on Monday produced 20 CORY’S, 28 SOOTY and 10 unidentified SHEARWATERS and a single WILSON’S STORM-PETREL.

Last Saturday a SUMMER TANAGER was encountered at a private home in Northwest Harbor out in East Hampton, and BLUE GROSBEAKS continue in the Calverton area.

Last weekend the Greenwich-Stamford Summer Bird Count, including much of eastern Westchester County, tallied 126 species including eight BALD EAGLES and two PEREGRINE FALCONS, three RUDDY TURNSTONES, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and AMERICAN WOODCOCK, two YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS, fifteen BARRED OWLS, an ALDER and two ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS, two RED-BREASTED NUTCHATCHES, BROWN CREEPER, SWAINSON’S THRUSH, HOODED WARBLER and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.

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.