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 7th 2026* at 11pm. The highlights of today's tape are BROWN PELICAN, apparent onshore SARGASSO SHEARWATER, and other pelagics, RED-NECKED and WILSON'S PHALAROPES, and other shorebirds, GLAUCOUS GULL, BLUE GROSBEAK, and more.
Continued sightings of BROWN PELICANS this week were mostly confined to coastal waters along the western end of New York's barrier beaches beginning last weekend with 2 off Breezy Point, both days, and Sunday sightings of one at Plumb Beach, and 2 off Jones Beach, and on Thursday 2 were seen in the bay south of Freeport with one also off Oak Beach today.
A shearwater, photographed close offshore at Jacob Riis Park last Sunday, appears to be an unexpected coastal record of AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER as it appears in your field guides but now conflicted by a recent name change to SARGASSO SHEARWATER. More analysis of this interesting record will follow.
Meanwhile the CRESLI whale trips out of Montauk Harbor continue to produce a nice variety of pelagic birds. Birders on boats on Wednesday and today were treated to up to 7 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, a PARASITIC JAEGER Friday, a few WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, and a variety of shearwaters including some GREAT and CORY'S with SCOPOLI'S also reported, and fewer SOOTY and MANX plus some whales and dolphins. A few WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS have also been noted this week off Breezy Point and Riis Park as well as in Lower New York Bay.
With both adult and juvenile shorebirds now moving south, unfortunately the shorebirding opportunities at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge are not at all ideal on the East Pond with high water conditions persisting. Species such as LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, and PECTORAL, WHITE-RUMPED, and STILT SANDPIPERS are occurring but water levels need to be lower. HUDSONIAN WHIMBRELS appeared this week on Staten Island with one at Great Kills Park Sunday and 2 at Miller Field on Monday, and 3 also visited Plumb Beach Sunday. A WILSON'S PHALAROPE visited the dune pools between fields 1 & 2 at Jones Beach West End today.
The Brooklyn lingering immature GLAUCOUS GULL seen today at the Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk between 19th and 21st Streets. A couple of GULL-BILLED TERNS were at Plumb Beach Thursday following a CASPIAN TERN there the day before and a few CASPIANS have also been occurring recently along the Hudson River.
Among the recent landbird migrants an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was spotted Wednesday at the Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown in central Westchester and a few scattered warbler migrants featured CERULEAN in both Prospect and Central Parks plus BLACK-AND-WHITE, MAGNOLIA, BAY-BREASTED at Green-wood Cemetery, PRAIRIE and CANADA.
BLUE GROSBEAKS continue at several sites around Calverton including the Preston's Pond Complex.
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.
