New York City Rare Bird Alert

Here's the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 21, 2019:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jun. 21, 2019
* NYNY1906.21

- Birds mentioned
SANDWICH TERN+
ARCTIC TERN+
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Gull-billed Tern
Royal Tern
Cory's Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK
SANDHILL CRANE
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Grasshopper Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
KENTUCKY WARBLER
MOURNING WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat

- Transcript

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 nysarc44 (at) nybirds{dot}org.

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: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, June 21st 2019 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, BRIDLED TERN, SANDWICH TERN, ARCTIC TERN, SANDHILL CRANE, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and more.

Nickerson Beach continues to provide several of our regions most unusual birds including up to 10 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS that have spent the week at or near this park. The ducks are often seen on the grassy lawn towards the western end of the park just beyond the main parking lot and adjacent to the south side of Lido Boulevard. At other times from 2 to 10 ducks have been around the ponds in the dunes just west of the beach entrance from the southwest corner of the lot. It is these ponds that also attracted an either rather late or somewhat early STILT SANDPIPER yesterday. The STILT joined there by a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER this morning.

Also at Nickerson this week were reports from around the Common and Least Tern and Black Skimmer colonies included, besides a couple of GULL-BILLED TERNS, a flyby SANDWICH TERN Monday morning. This individual moving southwest and an adult ARCTIC TERN on the beach Wednesday. The entrance to Nickerson Beach is off Lido Boulevard just west of Malibu Beach in Point Lookout and a substantial fee is collected there roughly between the hours of 9am to 4pm.

The adult BRIDLED TERN visiting Great Gull Island recently was last reported there last Saturday but may still be in the area.

Continuing out at Napeague on eastern Long Island is the SANDHILL CRANE still present yesterday along Cranberry Hill Road near the old fish factory.

With weather conditions not really cooperating in a helpful way sightings of pelagic birds from Long Island's south shore have been somewhat spotty but a few SOOTY, GREAT and CORY'S SHEARWATERS and WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS have occurred off traditional viewing sites like Robert Moses State Park field 2 and along Dune Road to Shinnecock Inlet. It's helpful for the wind to have a southerly component and historically the stronger flights have been from Moses and east though some can also be seen from westerly sites like Nickerson and Breezy Point.

Increasing numbers of ROYAL TERNS this week have included 2 each at Smith Point County Park Wednesday and at Cupsogue County Park today.

Two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were seen together along the Paumanok Trail off Schultz Road in Manorville and another continues at Muscoot Farm Preserve in northern Westchester County. Also along the Paumanok Trail a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was still present Monday. The KENTUCKY WARBLER was still heard singing near the Ecology Village at Floyd Bennett Field yesterday and even more unexpected is a female MOURNING WARBLER still in Bryant Park in Manhattan today but its presence there might be the result of an unfriendly encounter with one of the surrounding buildings. A couple of COMMON YELLOWTHROATS also remain there. Other late warblers reported this week included NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and BLACKPOLL.

Paired up BLUE GROSBEAKS and some GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS are among the highlight birds breeding around the Calverton Grasslands at the former Grumman airport.

To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript