New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 14, 2020:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 14, 2020
* NYNY2008.14


- Birds mentioned
WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL+
BROWN PELICAN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GLAUCOUS GULL
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Cory's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
White-rumped Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
MARBLED GODWIT
UPLAND SANDPIPER
WHIMBREL
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Bobolink
BLUE GROSBEAK
DICKCISSEL
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Bank Swallow
Black-and-White Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
American Redstart
SEDGE WREN
Red-breasted Nuthatch

- 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

Compiler: Tom Burke
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 14th 2020 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL, BROWN PELICAN, SEDGE WREN, MARBLED GODWIT, WHIMBREL, UPLAND SANDPIPER, GLAUCOUS GULL, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, DICKCISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK and more.

A boat trip last Sunday into Hudson Canyon waters luckily encountered a WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL along with about 60 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS. A Montauk whale trip last Saturday noted 12 GREAT and 11 CORY'S SHEARWATERS.

BROWN PELICAN sightings this week apparently were restricted to westerly coastal sites with 2 off Breezy Point last Saturday followed by one on Sunday later spotted off Atlantic Beach then one yesterday off Miller Field on Staten Island. Also on Staten Island a pair of SEDGE WRENS found Thursday the 6th on the now restricted Freshkills Park was still present Wednesday. Good news is that some of this park apparently will open to public entry next spring.

With shorebird season continuing without the wonderful opportunities once provided by the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at least some shorebirds are being seen mostly by boat out in Jamaica Bay itself these including a MARBLED GODWIT last Saturday joined by another on Sunday. Another MARBLED has been out on the flats at Mecox at least Wednesday and yesterday. Last weekend one or two WHIMBREL were also noted in Jamaica Bay as well as out at Breezy Point. An UPLAND SANDPIPER was heard giving its distinctive call as it flew over Timber Point Golf Course in Great River last Friday and another did the same as it circled over Marshlands Conservancy in Rye this morning. Other recent shorebirds have included WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and WESTERN SANDPIPERS among various gatherings.

Certainly out of season was an immature GLAUCOUS GULL out at the Montauk Harbor Inlet last Saturday.

Terns this week included reports of 2 GULL-BILLED at Jamaica Bay Sunday and a CASPIAN at the West Hampton Dunes overlook yesterday as well as some ROYALS coastally.

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE continues to ignore the northeast as it populates the rest of North America but one was spotted at Floyd Bennett Field back on Friday the 7th and seen there a few times through Sunday. Up to 3 BLUE GROSBEAKS were noted around the Calverton Grasslands this week while surprising were a couple of early DICKCISSELS this week with one last Saturday moving over Breezy Point followed by another out east in Greenport yesterday.

Besides some swallows including CLIFF, BANK and PURPLE MARTIN small numbers of southbound migrants recently have included such warblers as OVENBIRD and NORTHERN and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES, WORM-EATING, YELLOW, BLACK-AND-WHITE and AMERICAN REDSTART as well as BOBOLINK and even RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

To phone in reports 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