Birders in coastal NY (at least) should be on the lookout for WHITE IBIS. There have been multiple reports in recent days from Cape May County, New Jersey of flocks of White Ibis that appeared to be "heading north". Indeed Terry Carruthers and Pete Shen submitted eBird checklists from 20 April of an estimated 130 (yes, you read that right!) White Ibis "drifting northwards at great height". Where these birds are ending up is anybody's guess.
Along these lines, many species more typical of the southern states are being found up and down the mid-Atlantic region, from Swainson's warbler and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in NJ to a fulva ssp. Cave Swallow near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. This is not an exhaustive summary but something atypical (in my view) is happening. The Violet-green Swallow in near Albany, NY, and less so the multiple reports of White-faced Ibis (NJ, CT, MA) also hint at a west-to-east component. There's a lot of fresh data to digest but it is hard to believe many of these species are not finding their way in the lower tier of New York State at a minimum. -- Angus Wilson New York City, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
