New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the NYC Rare Bird Alert for the week ending January 15, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan 15, 2010
* NYNY1001.15

- Birds Mentioned:

MEW GULL+
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Redhead
King Eider
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Common Goldeneye
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Willet
Purple Sandpiper
American Woodcock
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Bonaparte's Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Razorbill
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Horned Lark
Winter Wren
Hermit Thrush
American Pipit
Lapland Longspur
Rusty Blackbird


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 nysarc1 AT 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

~ Transcript ~

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

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

Compilers: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Karen Fung

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, January 15th, at 7:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are MEW GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, and more.

First, the pelagic trip leaving from Freeport aboard the Captain Lou VII Sunday morning at 8am still has spaces available, so please call 215-234-6805 as soon as possible if you are interested.

The adult MEW GULL hopefully continues to frequent the Gravesend Bay waterfront in Brooklyn, usually seen as it moves with Ring-billed Gulls on the grassy areas adjacent to a footbridge over the Belt Parkway, but also occasionally as it feeds along the shoreline. But a caveat: it was not seen there today. A footbridge over the Belt is adjacent to Bay 16th Street. Parking spaces can also be found on the local streets there, making it a quick walk over the bridge. Look especially at the gull flock that gathers east of the bridge. A parking area is also available mile east of the bridge, as accessed from the eastbound Belt Parkway, requiring a walk west along the promenade to the pedestrian bridge. The MEW has been seen along the promenade as well as the roosting spot at various times during the day, sometimes only making brief stops, but others much longer. Low tide may be the least likely time to find it there.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE in Bayville can usually be found with COMMON GOLDENEYE east of Bayville off the causeway along Bayville Avenue just before it enters Centre Island. An immature HARLEQUIN DUCK on Sunday was in a COMMON GOLDENEYE flock off the east end of Ransom Beach, which is west of Bayville, and a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was with Canadas on the pond between West Main Street and Lake Avenue in Oyster Bay.

In nearby Shu Swamp in Mill Neck Sunday there were over 20 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS as well as a few WOOD DUCK, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, HERMIT THRUSH, WINTER WREN, and other winter birds.

Two TUNDRA SWANS were still at Massapequa Preserve Sunday on the partly frozen pond just east of the entrance from the eastern terminus of Pittsburgh Avenue.

Other Brooklyn birds recently included LAPLAND LONGSPUR, lingering with HORNED LARKS on the cricket field at Floyd Bennett Field, and at Prospect Park such winter visitors as AMERICAN WOODCOCK Saturday, WOOD DUCK, an AMERICAN PIPIT on Sunday, and some RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.

The LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues on the beach just west of the fisherman's parking lot at Fort Tilden.

In Manhattan a BALD EAGLE has been seen a few times around Riverside Park. Good number of eagles can be found along the Hudson up to the Bear Mountain Bridge, and others have been appearing at various locations, including on eastern Long Island.

A WILLET was spotted again at Point Lookout Saturday, and look for the HARLEQUIN DUCKS along the ocean front jetties at Point Lookout.

The EURASIAN WIGEON was seen again briefly Sunday along Santapogue Creek in West Babylon, south of Montauk Highway. Nearby Capri Lake contained 75 REDHEAD among other ducks.

Out on eastern Long Island two BLACK VULTURES were spotted flying over Sag Harbor Tuesday afternoon, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was at the Calverton Grasslands at the former Grumman Airport Monday, when there were 400 COMMON EIDER and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Shinnecock Inlet.

In East Hampton the productive goose fields on the north side of Further Lane has in the past week produced six or more different GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and a few CACKLING GEESE, including a compact flock of seven seen together Saturday and Sunday.

A drake KING EIDER was with COMMON EIDER off Ditch Plains in Montauk Sunday, joined by 26 PURPLE SANDPIPERS and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, with a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK there later, following one also on Lake Montauk.

At Montauk Point, reports from last weekend featured a Sunday count noting 120 RAZORBILL and some other large, unidentified alcids, 35 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, and an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL moving by with BONAPARTE'S GULLS. ICELAND GULLS included two at Montauk Inlet and one at the Point Saturday.

A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Lake Agawam in Southampton Sunday.

In northern Westchester an immature male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD has been visiting feeders at the Pruyn Audubon Sanctuary at 275 Millwood Road, which is Route 133 in Chappaqua. The bird travels with Red-wings and Cowbirds and is also seen later in the afternoon.

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. Thank you for calling.

~ End Transcript ~