New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, June 28, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* June 28, 2019
* NYNY1906.28

- Birds Mentioned

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK+
MISSISSIPPI KITE+
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Common Eider
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
LEACH’S STORM-PETREL
BROWN PELICAN
Tricolored Heron
Turkey Vulture
Common Gallinule
SANDHILL CRANE
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
BLACK TERN
Roseate Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Red-headed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Acadian Flycatcher
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Canada Warbler
Grasshopper Sparrow
BLUE GROSBEAK
Eastern Meadowlark

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 28, 2019 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are BRIDLED TERN, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, SANDHILL CRANE, MISSISSIPPI KITE, BROWN PELICAN, LEACH’S STORM-PETREL, GULL-BILLED and BLACK TERNS, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK and more.

The adult BRIDLED TERN was seen again last Sunday roosting on the northeast corner of Great Gull Island. This bird is viewable from a boat, but, as Great Gull is an important research island, please remember that no boats are permitted to land there.

The surprisingly long stay of up to ten BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS continues at Nickerson Beach off Lido Boulevard just west of Point Lookout. All ten were noted yesterday on the grassy lawn on the west side of the park, and at least two were there today. A couple of GULL-BILLED TERNS also continue to be seen at Nickerson or across Lido Boulevard at the Lido Preserve Passive Nature Center, and a ROSEATE TERN was still at Nickerson Tuesday. Remember Nickerson charges a hefty entrance fee between 9 am and 4 pm.

The SANDHILL CRANE also remains on Eastern Long Island at Napeague, often seen near the old fish factory along Cranberry Hole Road.

A MISSISSIPPI KITE was reported soaring last Saturday with TURKEY VULTURES at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in northern Westchester County. It has been looked for but not seen since.

A BROWN PELICAN was noted flying west by Southampton last Saturday – this species should be watched for along Long Island’s south shore as well as around the inlets and bays.

A fishing boat in the Atlantic well off Long Island last Sunday and Monday noted good numbers of SHEARWATERS, mostly GREAT and some CORY’S, as well as a few LEACH’S and many WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS. But pelagic birding from Long Island’s south shore continues to be slow, a watch from Robert Moses State Park Tuesday morning noting two BLACK TERNS but only one WILSON’S STORM-PETREL, though forty LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were around Field 2, and there were just seven WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS off Shinnecock Inlet Thursday, though there were over fifty COMMON EIDER still lingering there.

One or two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS and a singing YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER were still present this week out in Manorville, these continuing along the Paumanok Trail located on the western side of Schultz Road along the north side of Jones Pond.

BLUE GROSBEAKS remain around the Calverton grasslands at the site of the old Grumman airport, this productive area also providing habitat for many GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS as well as EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and many other species.

A COMMON GALLINULE was spotted today on the west pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge; two BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS were also at the refuge this week as well as at Floyd Bennet Field.

Farther east a TRICOLORED HERON was seen again yesterday at Captree Island marsh, and an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was found in Hunter’s Garden southwest of Riverhead yesterday.

This is the time to be on the lookout for floaters, migrant passerines that are either not going to nest in their expected range or have been disrupted in their attempt and are already moving around – this might explain the CANADA WARBLER at Caumsett State Park last Saturday.

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.