Weekly Rare Bird Alert

Below is the weekly Rare Bird Alert for New York City for the week ending December 11, 2009:

Subject: NYC Area RBA: 11 December 2009
From: Ben Cacace
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 2009

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 11, 2009
* NYNY0912.11

- Birds mentioned

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
IPSWICH SPARROW+ (Savannah Sparrow subspecies)

Cackling Goose
Red-necked Grebe
SANDHILL CRANE
Purple Sandpiper
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Black-legged Kittiwake
Red-headed Woodpecker
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
Blue-headed Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
SUMMER TANAGER
Baltimore Oriole

- 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 nysarc3@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, December 11th 2009 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, SANDHILL CRANE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-HEADED GULL, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER and SUMMER TANAGER.

The Queens ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was still present Wednesday continuing to work the wood lots near the intersection of North Conduit Avenue and Cohancy Street. A continuing food supply will become a problem for the flycatcher but for now look for it in the lot at the above intersection behind the brick building and adjacent to the raised train tracks or in other lots along Cohancy or just west of there across 99th Place. This site is easily reached just off exit 17N on the westbound Belt Parkway. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was also still at this site Sunday.

The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was seen again last Friday at Sunken Meadow State Park and so was still floating about in that area. But the Barnacle Goose has not been reported for awhile.

A SANDHILL CRANE was calling as it flew over Baldwin back on Thursday the 3rd perhaps the same bird noted at Shinnecock on November 29th.

The immature male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD continues to visit feeders in the Grymes Hill section of northeastern Staten Island and the homeowner at 122 Hillside Avenue continues to welcome birders to look for the hummingbird. Also in northern Staten Island at Clove Lakes Park a SUMMER TANAGER was present from the weekend at least through Tuesday below the Martling Avenue waterfall with an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER nearby. Other passerines noted at Clove Lakes Park on Tuesday featured ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, PINE WARBLER, and 3 BALTIMORE ORIOLES.

An immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was seen again at the Owl's Head waste water treatment plant in Brooklyn on Monday. This is the first sighting since it was initially noted there November 10th.

A RED-NECKED GREBE was seen again Saturday in the bay off Bench 9 at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

A CACKLING GOOSE was present Saturday and Sunday at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens in a Canada Goose flock.

A very late YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER critically examined to rule out any western empidonax flycatchers was found at Zach's Bay at Jones Beach State Park last Sunday and other passerines along the Jones strip that day featured an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the West End turnaround and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO east of Cedar Beach overlook. Another ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at Hempstead Lake State Park yesterday.

Interesting late OVENBIRDS were in Prospect Park today and in Bryant Park Manhattan today. The latter site also featuring a couple of COMMON YELLOWTHROATS recently.

A fairly slow weekend out east on Long Island featured a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE in Montauk Point Saturday and 2 more kittiwakes that day around the mouth of Montauk Harbor where there were also 4 PURPLE SANDPIPERS on the jetties and 2 IPSWICH SAVANNAH SPARROWS in the dunes.

In Westchester County an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was found Wednesday at Rockefeller State Park near where the overlook trail meets the Ash Tree loop.

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

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society.

- End transcript