New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 7, 2018

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sept. 7, 2018
* NYNY1809.07

- Birds Mentioned

EURASIAN WIGEON
King Eider
Common Eider
Cory’s Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
MANX SHEARWATER
Least Bittern
Sora
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER
White-rumped Sandpiper
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
WILSON’S PHALAROPE
POMARINE JAEGER
Parasitic Jaeger
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Nighthawk
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
LARK SPARROW

Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, September 7, 2018 at 9 pm.

The highlights of today's tape are WESTERN KINGBIRD, MARBLED and HUDSONIAN GODWITS, BUFF-BREASTED and BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS, WILSON’S PHALAROPE, EURASIAN WIGEON, POMARINE JAEGER, MANX SHEARWATER, LARK SPARROW, CONNECTICUT and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

Though shorebirds continue to garner much of the birding attention locally, the inevitable shift is on its way, as exemplified by a WESTERN KINGBIRD that was photographed at the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area last Saturday morning.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, despite continuing high water on the East Pond, birders were treated this week to a MARBLED GODWIT at the south end and two HUDSONIAN GODWITS and a WILSON’S PHALAROPE at the north end through the holiday weekend, including Monday. Other shorebirds included a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER spotted on Monday as well as a decent number of STILT and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, a few WESTERN SANDPIPERS, and an occasional PECTORAL SANDPIPER; other highlights featured a SORA at the north end Thursday, up to three CASPIAN TERNS mostly at the north end, especially early in the week, and among a good and increasing variety of waterfowl, a drake EURASIAN WIGEON in transitional plumage spotted Tuesday on the East Pond. Three WHIMBREL were out on Yellow Bar Hassock in Jamaica Bay on Monday.

Out on the sod fields along the east side of Doctors Path north of Riverhead a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER showed up last Sunday, and one was still there today, but a single BAIRD’S SANDPIPER found there was apparently only seen Monday.

An adult AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER continued on the Route 51 sod farm in Centerport, just east of Route 111, at least to Sunday; more should be arriving soon.

Finishing the shorebirds, two MARBLED GODWITS were still at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes last Saturday, when a BAIRD’S SANDPIPER was also seen near the open Mecox inlet, and an HUDSONIAN GODWIT visited Mecox yesterday.

Notably, the Eastern Long Island sites, at least early in the week, were most productive for seabirds. At Mecox Saturday an ocean watch produced a modest 25 CORY’S SHEARWATERS compared to the estimated 300 off there Sunday morning along with a late SOOTY SHEARWATER, but Saturday provided the better JAEGER show with an estimated 10 PARASITICS as well as 1 POMARINE.

Cupsogue had comparable results, with 50 CORY’S SHEARWATERS Saturday and 272 plus a MANX SHEARWATER on Sunday, while the PARASITIC totals were 5 Saturday and 2 Sunday. 6 BLACK TERNS were also offshore Saturday.

Another MANX SHEARWATER was seen sitting off Shinnecock Inlet last Saturday morning, and 65 CORY’S SHEARWATERS and 8 PARASITIC JAEGERS were counted off Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday.

A changing male KING EIDER was still on the east side of Shinnecock Inlet with COMMON EIDERS as of Tuesday.

A LEAST BITTERN was spotted at Arshamomaque Preserve in Centerport last Saturday, and two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still at Connetquot River State Park Tuesday.

The Randall’s Island LARK SPARROW was still present last Saturday, when other singles were found on Governor’s Island and at Jones Beach West End, another visiting Floyd Bennett Field on Monday.

The WARBLER highlight was the CONNECTICUT found today around the south side of the Lake in Prospect Park, where a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was photographed last Tuesday. A female-type GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was noted in Central Park’s Ramble today, perhaps a continuing bird. Both Central and Prospect Parks produced HOODED WARBLER this week, with a reasonable selection but low numbers of other Warblers also moving through.

A Tuesday morning flight witnessed at Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn netted OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 26 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WINTER WREN and 12 species of WARBLERS including CAPE MAY.

COMMON NIGHTHAWKS continue to gather in the evenings but will be finishing up soon.

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