[nysbirds-l] 4 Buff-breasted SP's, 1 Marbled Godwit etc., NYC, 9/17 (with signature)

[Tom Fiore]

Apologies for the duplicate message; I simply forgotten to add my name  
and NY location)
__
Friday, 17 September, 2010 - Brooklyn / Kings Co. & Queens Co . N.Y.  
City

At Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. City, the four juvenile- 
plumaged Buff-breasted Sandpipers continued as of about 8:45 - 9:45  
a.m. in the weedy (not recently mowed) and uneven field across from  
and immediately northeast of the parking area by the F.B. Field  
'aviator' building and adjacent to where the western vehicle entry /  
traffic signal is from Flatbush Avenue-Marine Parkway - this is not  
the standard old entry point but the newer one with black cyclone  
fencing & gated at certain times. The 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers were  
ranging almost all around the weedy field and also were rather  
skittish when cars drove close by & at any speed, yet with care, 3 of  
us watched and photographed these 4 juvenile-plumaged birds, from as  
little as 150-200 feet without interrupting any of their feeding and  
roaming in the field. Also present at times (& also moving away at  
times) were a flock of 10+ Killdeer. If the directions given are still  
unclear, the field we mention is directly down the runway-drive that  
passes the F.B. Field "community gardens" and just a 1/4 mile or so to  
the north along the same side as the community gardens are. It is the  
unmowed area that has 2 modest size trees standing apart and alone  
within the "back" part of that same field and is also edged on the  
east by a low berm of grassy-weedy covered earth about 6+ feet high,  
that runs almost the length of this weedy field on one side only (at  
the edge next to the runway).  In addition to looking at the Buff- 
breasted Sandpipers with Rob Bate who came by serendipitously as we  
were watching, E. Katsnelson & I looked in the Floyd Bennett Field  
community gardens and found a young Dickcissel in the northern part  
along with the usual gang of House Sparrows. The dickcissel seemed to  
retreat with these sparrows into the SW section within these gardens,  
this after 10 a.m.  Otherwise F.B. Field seemed a bit "quiet" for  
freshly arrived migrants; we also saw 3 N. Harriers and 4 American  
Kestrels, hunting in the grassland areas.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens Co., N.Y. City, at and after  
the day's high tide cycle (~ 4 p.m. until just after sunset) a  
juvenile -plumaged Marbled Godwit was found and photographed by us at  
the East Pond of the refuge, seen first at nearly sunset from the  
trail past "Big John's Pond" looking at the raunt area due east, and  
the godwit on the east shore of the pond (not amongst the birds  
scattered thru the raunt, but working deliberately south on and along  
the shore of the pond) and after about 20 minutes or more of good  
scope views, we watched as the godwit took low flight almost skimming  
the pond and heading directly to or at least towards the south end of  
the East Pond at at least 7:15 p.m. - with moonlight beginning to win  
out over daylight... incidentally, the Marbled Godwit was noted in the  
refuge log book for Thursday, 16 Sept. as well.  At the Refuge, the  
East Pond also held at least 250 additional shorebirds, mostly  
yellowlegs with a fair number of Short-billed Dowitchers and far fewer  
numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers.  We did not check the north end of  
the East Pond at all - but did look at the West Pond and there added  
at least 80 additional shorebirds of the same species mix as at the  
East Pond. There were great numbers of Snowy Egrets at the refuge,  
with easily 150+ in both west & east pond area, & trees surrounding.   
Forster's Terns were noted in very modest numbers at the Refuge, and  
some Boat-tailed Grackles were also seen.
Another birder, whose name I ought to know, was able to view the  
Marbled Godwit at the last possible moment before it flew to the south  
end of the E. Pond, with our nice scope views.

A look at Fort Tilden & Riis Park, on the Rockaway peninsula of Queens  
Co. in mid-day hours provided a very modest number of most birds with  
the exception of what seemed to be a very nice flight that was just  
developing, of American Kestrels, Merlins, Ospreys, N. Harriers and  
accipiters including Sharp-shinned and a few Cooper's Hawks.  The  
passerine flight, such as it was, was extremely light and yet there  
were at least a few such migrants around including a Prairie Warbler &  
a few others. The Atlantic was as quiet as could be both close and  
distantly, with barely a tern in sight (we did see a few Common Terns  
go by), and the beach was relatively free of birds other than a few  
surf-chasing Sanderlings and a duo of American Oystercatchers. A few  
hummingbirds buzzed thru at the hawk-watch platform at Fort Tilden ,  
but it might be noted that by far, the  most numerous long-distance  
migrants seen (in the many hundreds, indeed thousands - if calculated  
per 1 day rather per 1 hour) were the Mon

[nysbirds-l] 4 Buff-breasted SP's, 1 Marbled Godwit etc., NYC, 9/17

[Tom Fiore]

Friday, 17 September, 2010 - Brooklyn / Kings Co. & Queens Co . N.Y.  
City

At Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. City, the four juvenile- 
plumaged Buff-breasted Sandpipers continued as of about 8:45 - 9:45  
a.m. in the weedy (not recently mowed) and uneven field across from  
and immediately northeast of the parking area by the F.B. Field  
'aviator' building and adjacent to where the western vehicle entry /  
traffic signal is from Flatbush Avenue-Marine Parkway - this is not  
the standard old entry point but the newer one with black cyclone  
fencing & gated at certain times. The 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers were  
ranging almost all around the weedy field and also were rather  
skittish when cars drove close by & at any speed, yet with care, 3 of  
us watched and photographed these 4 juvenile-plumaged birds, from as  
little as 150-200 feet without interrupting any of their feeding and  
roaming in the field. Also present at times (& also moving away at  
times) were a flock of 10+ Killdeer. If the directions given are still  
unclear, the field we mention is directly down the runway-drive that  
passes the F.B. Field "community gardens" and just a 1/4 mile or so to  
the north along the same side as the community gardens are. It is the  
unmowed area that has 2 modest size trees standing apart and alone  
within the "back" part of that same field and is also edged on the  
east by a low berm of grassy-weedy covered earth about 6+ feet high,  
that runs almost the length of this weedy field on one side only (at  
the edge next to the runway).  In addition to looking at the Buff- 
breasted Sandpipers with Rob Bate who came by serendipitously as we  
were watching, E. Katsnelson & I looked in the Floyd Bennett Field  
community gardens and found a young Dickcissel in the northern part  
along with the usual gang of House Sparrows. The dickcissel seemed to  
retreat with these sparrows into the SW section within these gardens,  
this after 10 a.m.  Otherwise F.B. Field seemed a bit "quiet" for  
freshly arrived migrants; we also saw 3 N. Harriers and 4 American  
Kestrels, hunting in the grassland areas.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens Co., N.Y. City, at and after  
the day's high tide cycle (~ 4 p.m. until just after sunset) a  
juvenile -plumaged Marbled Godwit was found and photographed by us at  
the East Pond of the refuge, seen first at nearly sunset from the  
trail past "Big John's Pond" looking at the raunt area due east, and  
the godwit on the east shore of the pond (not amongst the birds  
scattered thru the raunt, but working deliberately south on and along  
the shore of the pond) and after about 20 minutes or more of good  
scope views, we watched as the godwit took low flight almost skimming  
the pond and heading directly to or at least towards the south end of  
the East Pond at at least 7:15 p.m. - with moonlight beginning to win  
out over daylight... incidentally, the Marbled Godwit was noted in the  
refuge log book for Thursday, 16 Sept. as well.  At the Refuge, the  
East Pond also held at least 250 additional shorebirds, mostly  
yellowlegs with a fair number of Short-billed Dowitchers and far fewer  
numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers.  We did not check the north end of  
the East Pond at all - but did look at the West Pond and there added  
at least 80 additional shorebirds of the same species mix as at the  
East Pond. There were great numbers of Snowy Egrets at the refuge,  
with easily 150+ in both west & east pond area, & trees surrounding.   
Forster's Terns were noted in very modest numbers at the Refuge, and  
some Boat-tailed Grackles were also seen.
Another birder, whose name I ought to know, was able to view the  
Marbled Godwit at the last possible moment before it flew to the south  
end of the E. Pond, with our nice scope views.

A look at Fort Tilden & Riis Park, on the Rockaway peninsula of Queens  
Co. in mid-day hours provided a very modest number of most birds with  
the exception of what seemed to be a very nice flight that was just  
developing, of American Kestrels, Merlins, Ospreys, N. Harriers and  
accipiters including Sharp-shinned and a few Cooper's Hawks.  The  
passerine flight, such as it was, was extremely light and yet there  
were at least a few such migrants around including a Prairie Warbler &  
a few others. The Atlantic was as quiet as could be both close and  
distantly, with barely a tern in sight (we did see a few Common Terns  
go by), and the beach was relatively free of birds other than a few  
surf-chasing Sanderlings and a duo of American Oystercatchers. A few  
hummingbirds buzzed thru at the hawk-watch platform at Fort Tilden ,  
but it might be noted that by far, the  most numerous long-distance  
migrants seen (in the many hundreds, indeed thousands - if calculated  
per 1 day rather per 1 hour) were the Monarch butterflies streaming SW  
down the beach, the surf line, the dune line, and well up over the  
whole penins

Re: [nysbirds-l] Good news from NYSARC

[Andrew Mason]

Angus--

Good news, and congratulations to you and the committee for your 
great efforts and accomplishment.  Having the thoroughly reviewed and 
studied determinations of NYSARC makes these records all the more 
valuable and useful.

I second your request that birders should submit their reports of 
reviewable species--for their benefit and for those that will come after us.

Andy Mason

At 12:47 PM 9/17/2010, you wrote:
>I am pleased to announce that the New York State Avian Records 
>Committee (NYSARC) has completed its review of rare bird reports 
>from 2009. The results will be published in The Kingbird (quarterly 
>journal of the New York State Ornithological Association) at the end 
>of the year and posted on the NYSOA web site shortly thereafter. 
>This is a significant achievement because the review process is 
>finally up-to-date, meaning that we are now reviewing sightings from 
>2010 in that same year. This is a rare achievement for any records committee.
>
>Catching up from what became a four-year backlog was an ambitious 
>goal and the current and recent members of the Committee are to be 
>commended for their hard and relentless work. As Secretary, Jeanne 
>Skelly has done more than anyone to maintain an aggressive reviewing 
>pace and those lucky enough to know Jeanne will appreciate her 
>ability to 'crack the whip' in the sweetest of ways.
>
>As birders, we have reached unfamiliar and exciting territory and 
>some important changes will be needed. Our concern now is that 
>written reports and supporting photographs need to be submitted in a 
>timely manner otherwise the review process will become fragmented 
>and the delays will creep back. Ideally, materials should be filed 
>within a few weeks of the sighting. This does not mean observers 
>should compromise on the detail included in their reports. It is 
>advisable to spend a day or two time preparing the description, 
>choosing the most informative photographs and when possible, doing a 
>little research to enrich your report. How does the timing sighting 
>compare to others from the state, region or county? Who first found 
>the bird if it was not you? We strive to include these details in 
>the Annual Report and often rely on information provided by Kingbird 
>Regional editors. This becomes more difficult when we reviewing on a 
>fast track.
>
>So far this year we have received 86 reports documenting 53 
>different sightings; a little below our average for this point in 
>the year and the Committee is aware of many sightings for which we 
>have not yet received anything. We encourage you therefore to think 
>back over the past eight months and prepare reports for reviewable 
>species if you have not done so. We are working with the folks at 
>eBird to provide reminders of NYSARC reviewable species and make it 
>easier to include this important function in your data entry 
>routine. However, please appreciate that providing details to an 
>eBird reviewer is not a substitute for submitting to NYSARC.
>
>A list of reviewable species is provided on the NYSOA web site:
>
>http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/NYSARClist.htm
>
>Advice on submitting reports by email, regular mail or via an online 
>form can be found here:
>
>http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
>
>Many people now use online photogalleries such as Flickr, Picasaweb 
>and Facebook to share photographs and choose to include links in 
>their written reports in lieu of attaching image files. Since these 
>galleries are ephemeral by nature, the NYSARC Secretary much down 
>and archive images to accompany the reports. We are happy to do this 
>but it can be a daunting task. One needs to register to access some 
>sites and more often than not, the relevant photos are buried among 
>others. It takes more time than you would think to sort through 
>someones vacation photos to find the two shots of an interesting 
>tanager. Likewise, galleries may contain tens if not hundreds of 
>images of the relevant bird(s). Should we download, print and 
>archive all of them? We feel very strongly that the observer should 
>decide which of these images best showcase the features used to make 
>an accurate identification.
>
>So bottom line: We'd prefer images to be sent as attachments rather 
>than as gallery links but if you do, please provide specific URLs 
>that take us to individual images, rather than collections. This 
>small effort will enhance your report and provide a better record 
>for posterity.
>
>We look forward to the continue support of the thriving New York 
>State birding community. All reports are gratefully received and are 
>archived irrespective of the Committee's decision to 'accept' or 
>not. We want the Annual Report to be as complete a record of rare 
>bird sightings during that year as possible and rely on your 
>cooperation to do so. Past reports are can be viewed here:
>
>

[cayugabirds-l] Good news from NYSARC

[Angus Wilson]

I am pleased to announce that the *New York State Avian Records
Committee*(NYSARC) has completed its review of rare bird reports from
2009. The
results will be published in The Kingbird (quarterly journal of the New York
State Ornithological Association) at the end of the year and posted on the
NYSOA web site shortly thereafter. This is a significant achievement because
the review process is finally up-to-date, meaning that we are now reviewing
sightings from 2010 in that same year. This is a rare achievement for any
records committee.

Catching up from what became a four-year backlog was an ambitious goal and
the current and recent members of the Committee are to be commended for
their hard and relentless work. As Secretary, Jeanne Skelly has done more
than anyone to maintain an aggressive reviewing pace and those lucky enough
to know Jeanne will appreciate her ability to 'crack the whip' in the
sweetest of ways.

As birders, we have reached unfamiliar and exciting territory and some
important changes will be needed. Our concern now is that written reports
and supporting photographs need to be submitted in a timely manner otherwise
the review process will become fragmented and the delays will creep
back. *Ideally,
materials should be filed within a few weeks of the sighting*. This does not
mean observers should compromise on the detail included in their reports. It
is advisable to spend a day or two time preparing the description, choosing
the most informative photographs and when possible, doing a little research
to enrich your report. How does the timing sighting compare to others from
the state, region or county? Who first found the bird if it was not you? We
strive to include these details in the Annual Report and often rely on
information provided by Kingbird Regional editors. This becomes more
difficult when we reviewing on a fast track.

So far this year we have received 86 reports documenting 53 different
sightings; a little below our average for this point in the year and the
Committee is aware of many sightings for which we have not yet received
anything. We encourage you therefore to think back over the past eight
months and prepare reports for reviewable species if you have not done so.
We are working with the folks at eBird to provide reminders of NYSARC
reviewable species and make it easier to include this important function in
your data entry routine. However, please appreciate that providing details
to an eBird reviewer is not a substitute for submitting to NYSARC.

A list of reviewable species is provided on the NYSOA web site:

http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/NYSARClist.htm

Advice on submitting reports by email, regular mail or via an online form
can be found here:

http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

Many people now use online photogalleries such as Flickr, Picasaweb and
Facebook to share photographs and choose to include links in their written
reports in lieu of attaching image files. Since these galleries are
ephemeral by nature, the NYSARC Secretary much down and archive images to
accompany the reports. We are happy to do this but it can be a daunting
task. One needs to register to access some sites and more often than not,
the relevant photos are buried among others. It takes more time than you
would think to sort through someones vacation photos to find the two shots
of an interesting tanager. Likewise, galleries may contain tens if not
hundreds of images of the relevant bird(s). Should we download, print and
archive all of them? We feel very strongly that the observer should decide
which of these images best showcase the features used to make an accurate
identification.

So bottom line: We'd prefer images to be sent as attachments rather than as
gallery links but if you do, please provide specific URLs that take us to
individual images, rather than collections. This small effort will enhance
your report and provide a better record for posterity.

We look forward to the continue support of the thriving New York State
birding community. All reports are gratefully received and are archived
irrespective of the Committee's decision to 'accept' or not. We want the
Annual Report to be as complete a record of rare bird sightings during that
year as possible and rely on your cooperation to do so. Past reports are can
be viewed here:

http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/NYSARCActions.html

We hope to make an additional announcement about some changes to the review
list in the near future.

Good birding! Angus Wilson
Chair, New York State Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA)

--

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[nysbirds-l] Robert Moses State Park This Morning (Suffolk Co.)

[Ken Feustel]

I did a half-hour sea watch this morning from RMSP Field 2. Highlights included 
two Caspian Terns and four Royal Terns. At the volleyball courts there were two 
Clay-colored Sparrows and a Lincoln's Sparrow. At the east end of the Field 5 
parking lot there were two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Ken Feustel

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[nysbirds-l] Jones Beach West End

[Peter Bookalam]

 I was at West End 2 yesterday around 1:00PM and saw (1) Baird's 
Sandpiper and (1) Buff-Breasted sandpiper on the edge of the swale 
(closest to the ocean).
The day before, on Wednesday there was one tern, a Caspian Tern among a 
small group of GBB gulls in the swale. It stayed for a short time and 
then exited right.


Regards,

Peter Bookalam

--




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[nysbirds-l] Six Adult Lesser BB Gulls Heckscher, LI

[Shaibal Mitra]

Having experienced first hand some of last evening's severe weather during my 
drive home from Staten Island, I was eager this morning to check Heckscher SP's 
(southwestern Suffolk Co.) perennially productive rain puddle this morning.

Although the shorebirds were meager, the sight of six adult Lesser Black-backed 
Gulls together was very impressive. My Picasa site has an album devoted to 
LBBGs, sequenced more or less by age and date. Some photos of this morning's 
birds begin here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/LesserBlackBackedGullsOnLongIsland#5517875099482074274

Mid September is the peak period for southbound adults of this species on LI, 
and it would be interesting to learn how many others might have been grounded 
this morning.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

Think green before you print this email.

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[nysbirds-l] Robert Moses & Gilgo Beach

[Patmlou2]

Searched for the clay colored sparrow & other reported birds at the  
volleyball courts at about 5:15 PM last night to no avail. Approx 170 Foster's  
terns were staging at the marina at Gilgo Beach just before the storm a  
6:00PM.

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