Re: [nysbirds-l] 38 Snowy Egret/Jamaica Bay WR

2011-04-10 Thread John Askildsen
yes, that is quite an impressive number, considering what was there just hours before. my wife kirsten and i were there at high tide from around 930am until 1pm. the cumulative sum total of herons was far less than shane's numbers, even when taking in what we saw throughout the refuge and not just the one spot shane refers to. i wonder what pulled shane's birds in since that was, as i recall, dead-low tide.  we also saw one little blue and small numbers of great and snowy egrets, but no tri-colored. of course there was the usual collection of waterfowl on both ponds, as expected, which kept us entertained. our most interesting sighting of the day however, was that of two adult n.gannet off the southwest side of the west pond. the birds were quite active. we eventually lost sight of them in the heat haze.   away from JBWR, the only other birds of note we might report was the continuing flock of 6 harlequin ducks at jones' inlet's west side, point lookout, as viewed from fireman's park.    John Askildsen, Millbrook, New York On 04/09/11, Shane Blodgett wrote:On the the South end of the East Pond between 6:45 and 7:20 this evening, what started as a small flock of 8 Snowy Egrets grew into a sizable 38. I'm pretty sure that is my high count for this early date.There were also 4 Little Blue Herons , 9 Great Egrets, 2 Glossy Ibis and a Tri-colored Heron, and 3 Blue-winged Teal.Shane BlodgettBrooklyn NY




[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 8 April 2011

2011-04-10 Thread Ben Cacace
- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 8, 2011
* NYNY1104.08

- Birds mentioned

VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Northern Gannet
Little Blue Heron
Glossy Ibis
Greater Yellowlegs
ICELAND GULL
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Rusty Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Redpoll

- 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
nysa...@nybirds.org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or
sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY  14428

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, 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, April 8th 2011
at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are VARIED THRUSH, GLAUCOUS GULL,
ICELAND GULL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
and Spring migrants.

A little burst of migrants this week indicates that Spring will come after
all.

In Central Park the lingering VARIED THRUSH was, as of last weekend, still
moving about between the maintenance area just south of the 79th Street
transverse and the south side of the Metropolitan Museum of Art closer to
5th Avenue. While the slowly changing RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still south
of the Sheep Meadow recently. The Rambles feeder last Sunday were 2 COMMON
REDPOLLS presumably heading back north.

Most emphasis now has centered around tracking down Spring arrivals. One of
the better local sites in early Spring for this is Hempstead Lake State Park
where an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER found last Sunday was still present at least
to Wednesday. Other warblers there featured PINE WARBLER, PALM WARBLER with
a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER Wednesday and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
Thursday plus growing numbers of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. In addition a
WHITE-EYED VIREO appeared Wednesday, a BLUE-HEADED VIREO Thursday along with
a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. Swallows over the ponds there on Thursday included
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, BARN SWALLOW and CLIFF SWALLOW as well as
TREE SWALLOW and the park has also featured other interesting birds
including WOOD DUCK and RUSTY BLACKBIRD.

Another arriving warbler was a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH in Brooklyn's
Green-wood Cemetery Wednesday.

EASTERN PHOEBES are now quite widespread and numbers of most of these
migrants should increase quickly with others joining them.

Different arrivals at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge joining the egrets there
featured LITTLE BLUE HERON and GLOSSY IBIS as of Thursday along with
BLUE-WINGED TEAL one of which was also in Alley Pond Park last Sunday.

Out at Point Lookout last Saturday the immature ICELAND GULL and 8 HARLEQUIN
DUCKS continued around the jetties and the barrier beach produced some
expected migrants during the week. NORTHERN GANNETS continue on western Long
Island Sound and 10 were counted Thursday in Little Neck Bay.

Moving east on Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet a SHORT-EARED OWL was
still present Thursday and a few COMMON EIDER and a decent number of
NORTHERN GANNETS were around the inlet. The immature GLAUCOUS GULL was still
frequenting the area around the Orient Point ferry terminal last Sunday.

Interesting for Westchester County was a male BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE singing at
Marshlands Conservancy in Rye last Saturday and a good flock of 30 GREATER
YELLOWLEGS there today is an indication that shorebirds are also on there
way north.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or
during the week except Sunday call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

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

- End transcript

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[nysbirds-l] West End/Jones Beach Birds (Nassau Co.)

2011-04-10 Thread ken feustel
After spending a slow hour or two birding at Hempstead Lake State Park,  I 
traveled over to West End 2 and took advantage of the light winds did a loop 
from the WE2 pavilion west to the WE jetty and then south along Jones Inlet and 
finally east on the fisherman's trail back to the WE2 parking lot.  The birding 
list I put together in many aspects resembled a January list more than a 
mid-April list. On the ocean shoreline opposite the WE2 pavilion was a first 
winter Iceland Gull that flew east down the beach. Piping Plovers were on 
territory behind the newly erected string fencing, i observed twelve PP's from 
the WE2 pavilion to the WE jetty. East of the swale on the ocean was a large 
mixed flock of Sanderlings (approx. 1200) and Dunlin (500). A single 
Semipalmated Plover was bathing with the Sanderlings in a small overwash pond. 
On the ocean there were many D.C. Cormorants and Loons, including a 
Red-throated Loon in full breeding plumage. On the way down to the jetty five 
Forster's Terns flew east down the beach. Just east of the jetty I quickly 
noticed a small flock of about ten Common Eider. Present with the CE's was an 
adult male King Eider.  On the jetty I noticed a flock of fifty Dunlin with two 
Purple Sandpipers mixed in.  I enjoyed the "winter" birds but, bring on the 
warblers!

Ken Feustel
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[nysbirds-l] Yellow-throated Warnler

2011-04-10 Thread Robert Bate
Eddie Davis found a bright Yellow-throated Warbler by Lampost 249 along the 
north shore of the lake in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.  Many eyes are on it now.

Thanks Eddie!

Ron Bate
Brooklyn



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[nysbirds-l] Brooklyn YTWA follow-up

2011-04-10 Thread Rob Jett
Just to follow-up Rob Bate's early posting, the Yellow-throated  
Warbler seen in Prospect Park was feeding in the trees in an area  
nicknamed "Lamppost J249". It was associating with a pair of Pine  
Warblers. Here is a link to a Google Earth map:


http://tinyurl.com/5wslj8h

If you go, the closest entrance to Prospect Park to this spot is  
Prospect Park Southwest and Vanderbilt Avenue.


Good birding,

Rob

The City Birder Weblog
http://citybirder.blogspot.com


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RE: [nysbirds-l] Central Park Boat Tailed Grackle?

2011-04-10 Thread Shaibal Mitra
Thank you, Jane, for posting this report--and for supporting it with photos!

In New York, Boat-tailed Grackle is very rare away from the coast, and this is 
a very notable record.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

From: bounce-16204433-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-16204433-3714...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Jane Ross 
[janefr...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 11:48 AM
To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Central Park Boat Tailed Grackle?

Saw what I believe is a boat-tailed grackle at the west end of the Meer (flying 
from the little island) on Saturday afternoon. Agressive and chatty and larger 
than regular grackles. Photos here don't quite capture the width of the tail, 
but it was quite broad in flight.



http://rossbirds.blogspot.com/

Jane F. Ross
International Education Consultant
1112 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10128



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[nysbirds-l] Common Raven + Pileated Woodpecker pr in Saratoga Spring, NY 4/9/11

2011-04-10 Thread peterbilt.birder
1   Common Raven, on the southwest end of Saratoga Spa grounds. A single bird 
on a wire close to the telephone pole.  
2.  Pileated Woodpecker, pair, working large trees, pealing big 
chunks of bark looking for food. On Four Winds property.
 76  Common Loon, raft on Lake Saratoga.
   26+ Scaup sp. On Lake Saratoga. We only had 10x42 
Swarovski bins in perfect light. 2 
species of swallows on Lake Saratoga.   
16Northern rough-winged swallows. 2  Tree swallows  
  Pam Musk + Dan Furbish 
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry


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RE: [nysbirds-l] 38 Snowy Egret/Jamaica Bay WR

2011-04-10 Thread Shaibal Mitra
This early-mid April period seems to be when Gannets are most likely to 
penetrate inshore waters, in our bays and sounds, where they are normally rare. 
John and Kirsten's observations at Jamaica Bay are really very unusual. My 
companions and i had some similar experiences yesterday--a Gannet north of 
Hicks Island, in Napeague Bay, and then 26 Gannets resting on the waters of 
Shinnecock Bay, north of the main sandbar there. I can't ever recall seeing so 
many in there. Today, Marc Brody mentioned seeing them inside Jones Inlet.

This time of year seems to be when the Gannets push their boundaries--

https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/ThereYouAre#5375001706807305570

--and I wonder if they are tracking a migratory prey species, like one of the 
anadromous herrings.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

< our most interesting sighting of the day however, was that of two adult 
n.gannet off the southwest side of the west pond. the birds were quite active. 
we eventually lost sight of them in the heat haze. >



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[nysbirds-l] Northern Gannets inside Jamaica Bay

2011-04-10 Thread Angus Wilson
I've actually seen Northern Gannet's foraging inside Jamaica Bay a number of
times. There were 5 or 6 there today and a similar number were present on 27
Mar when I stopped by on the way home from the Freeport pelagic. On that day
six Gannets were foraging all the way up to the Belt Parkway at the Mill
Basin Bridge. Apparently good numbers have been in the Outer New Harbor as
viewed from Coney Island and today a bunch were feeding close to the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. How often do they enter the Inner Harbor and are
they ever visible from Manhattan? Doug Gochfeld told me that both he and
Shane Blodgett have seen Gannets in Jamaica bay on several occasions,
mentioning 5 sitting on the water between Floyd Bennett Field and the Ruffle
Bar on 8 April 2009. I'd have to dig through my notes (or old postings to
this forum) to dredge up other dates.

Gannets are regular in the outer Peconic Bay during the spring and fall and
it is not at all unusual to see them between Gardiner's Island and the
'Springs/Accabonac' Peninsula, if not further west towards Shelter Island.
During one storm, I watched numbers of Gannets were flying back and forth
over Hick's Island or through the narrow channel between Hick's and Lazy
Point to feed in Napeague Harbor itself, which is so shallow it seemed risky
for a plunge diver. So I think Gannet's, unlike shearwaters, will
comfortably forage in relatively confined channels and bays if the fishing
is good. There were a bunch of charter boats fishing in the southern portion
of Jamaica Bay today, around where the gannets were feeding and perhaps
someone knows what they were after.

Angus Wilson
New York City/Springs

This early-mid April period seems to be when Gannets are most likely to
penetrate inshore waters, in our bays and sounds, where they are normally
rare. John and Kirsten's observations at Jamaica Bay are really very
unusual. My companions and i had some similar experiences yesterday--a
Gannet north of Hicks Island, in Napeague Bay, and then 26 Gannets resting
on the waters of Shinnecock Bay, north of the main sandbar there. I can't
ever recall seeing so many in there. Today, Marc Brody mentioned seeing them
inside Jones Inlet.

 This time of year seems to be when the Gannets push their boundaries--

 https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/ThereYouAre#5375001706807305570

 --and I wonder if they are tracking a migratory prey species, like one of
the anadromous herrings.

 Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

 < our most interesting sighting of the day however, was that of two adult
n.gannet off the southwest side of the west pond. the birds were quite
active. we eventually lost sight of them in the heat haze. >

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