New York Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, September 28, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Sept. 28, 2018
* NYNY1809.28

- Birds Mentioned

Cackling Goose
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW
American Golden-Plover
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
RED PHALAROPE
POMARINE JAEGER
Parasitic Jaeger
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
NORTHERN FULMAR
Cory’s Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Great Shearwater
MANX SHEARWATER
Northern Gannet
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-headed Woodpecker
Philadelphia Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Cape May Warbler
CERULEAN WARBLER
Bay-breasted Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Wilson’s Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
Lincoln’s Sparrow
DICKCISSEL
Purple Finch

Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, September 28, 2018 at 8 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are NORTHERN FULMAR, RED PHALAROPE, CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW, MANX and other SHEARWATERS, POMARINE JAEGER, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, BAIRD’S SANDPIPER, CERULEAN, YELLOW-THROATED and CONNECTICUT WARBLERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, LARK and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS and DICKCISSEL.

The storm Tuesday that produced very heavy rains also provided some interesting birds locally.

A sea watch conducted at Riis Park Tuesday morning was highlighted by a NORTHERN FULMAR passing well offshore, other notables including 2 GREAT SHEARWATERS and 3 PARASITIC JAEGERS.

Two RED PHALAROPES also dropped down Tuesday onto Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, where they were nicely photographed. Unfortunately this reservoir, part of the NYC water supply, is not open to visitors.

Off Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island Tuesday there were 1 MANX, 10 CORY’S and 5 GREAT SHEARWATERS, 11 NORTHERN GANNETS and a PARASITIC JAEGER.

A watch off Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack that morning produced 72 CORY’S, 3 GREAT, 1 late SOOTY and 4 MANX SHEARWATERS, 26 NORTHERN GANNETS, 10 PARASITIC JAEGERS and an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE. The latter was not the first KITTIWAKE locally this fall, with another immature photographed off Fort Tilden last Saturday.

Another watch Tuesday from Old Inlet just west of Smith Point Park recorded 25 CORY’S and 2 GREAT SHEARWATERS, a PARASITIC JAEGER and 60 ROYAL TERNS.

And also eye-opening on Tuesday were gatherings of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS along Long Island’s south shore, with 61 counted both at Jones Beach West End Field 2 and at Robert Moses State Park and another 60 noted at Old Inlet. Most of these were well dispersed the next morning.

A POMARINE JAEGER was spotted off Great Gull Island last Sunday, and today Jones Beach Field 6 netted a GREAT SHEARWATER, a PARASITIC JAEGER and 3 CASPIAN TERNS.

Shorebirds this week featured an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER at Fort Tilden Saturday, 1 or 2 BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS at Breezy Point last weekend, and 3 HUDSONIAN GODWITS on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Monday along with 6 STILT and 3 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a CASPIAN TERN.

Five WHIMBRELS were at Fort Tilden last Saturday and again Thursday, and 6 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS continue at Santapogue Creek in West Babylon.

A CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW was a great find in the Ramble in Central Park last Saturday, and the week there provided a number of other good sightings as well, including a male CERULEAN WARBLER from last Friday into Saturday, a CONNECTICUT WARBLER and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW last Sunday, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT on Wednesday, and at the north end a LARK SPARROW Thursday and today and a DICKCISSEL today.

Other species this week in Central and other regional parks have included both YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, PURPLE FINCH, and a decent variety of WARBLERS including TENNESSEE, BAY-BREASTED, CAPE MAY, WORM-EATING, and WILSON’S.

A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was quite a surprise at the Grumman grasslands complex in Calverton last Saturday.

Another DICKCISSEL was at Robert Moses State Park last Saturday, and a LARK SPARROW was spotted at Floyd Bennett Field Sunday.

A CACKLING GOOSE at Bay County Park in East Rockaway Sunday was somewhat early.

Two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still in Connetquot River State Park last Sunday.

A nice flight of over 5,000 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS passed over the Greenwich Audubon hawk watch last Saturday, heading into Westchester.

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