New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, July 19, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* July 19, 2019
* NYNY1907.19

- Birds Mentioned
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

SANDHILL CRANE
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Royal Tern
BROWN PELICAN

+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, Tony Lauro, and Shai Mitra
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Shai Mitra (Posted by Ben Cacace)

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, July 19, 2019 at 5:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape include continuing SANDHILL CRANE and BRIDLED TERN, BROWN PELICANS, and other seasonal seabirds and shorebirds.

The BRIDLED TERN that has been residing near the Great Gull Island tern colony was reported most recently on Friday. It is very likely still present at this sensitive site, where researchers are currently very busy with their field work and less able to search for and report this long-staying rarity. Similarly the SANDHILL CRANE at Napeague has been reported at least through Saturday.

July has historically been the best month for BROWN PELICANS on Long Island, and we have been treated to more than the usual number of records already this year. On Saturday alone, BROWN PELICANS were reported from at least four sites along the Suffolk County ocean shore, with the highest count being four, at Moriches Inlet. Less unusual but nevertheless impressive, ROYAL TERNS have been building along the south shore, with as many as 32 at Old Inlet on Monday.

Shorebird migration is in full swing now, with such species as SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER appearing now in large numbers. Reports from Jamaica Bay have indicated that the water level at the East Pond is still high, but birders searching farther afield have produced many reports of scarcer species, such as PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at Plumb Beach and Nickerson Beach on Thursday, SOLITARY SANDPIPERS at the Bronx Zoo on Tuesday, Jerome Park Reservoir on Thursday, and West Brook Pond Tuesday through today. WHIMBRELS have been widely reported on Long Island in the past week, from both the North and South Shores, with a high count of seven at Captree State Park on Wednesday.

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