New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 22, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan 22, 2010
* NYNY1001.22

- Birds Mentioned:

WESTERN GREBE+
MEW GULL+ (European subspecies "Common Gull")
COMMON MURRE+
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
ATLANTIC PUFFIN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Redhead
KING EIDER
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Northern Gannet
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
Common Raven
SUMMER TANAGER


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 22nd, at 9:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are ATLANTIC PUFFIN, COMMON MURRE, THICK-BILLED MURRE, DOVEKIE, WESTERN GREBE, MEW GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and SUMMER TANAGER.

Sunday's pelagic trip aboard the Captain Lou VII out of Freeport, organized by See Life Paulagics, managed to beat the bad weather and provide nice views of some good pelagic birds. Trip totals included 40 NORTHERN GANNETS, 2 ICELAND GULLS, 73 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 33 COMMON MURRES, 202 RAZORBILLS and 78 other large alcids, and 2 ATLANTIC PUFFINS. A HARLEQUIN DUCK was also seen along the Point Lookout ocean jetties as the boat came in.

The excitement continues in Brooklyn, where the European form of MEW GULL, also known as COMMON GULL, is still being seen by patient birders through this afternoon along the Gravesend Bay promenade adjacent to the Belt Parkway. The MEW GULL is most frequently seen roosting on the grass with Ring-billed Gulls near the pedestrian bridge over the Belt Parkway that is adjacent to Bay 16th Street, where parking is usually available and enables just a quick walk over the bridge. If not roosting on the grass, look also along the shore where the gull feeds on the rocks at lower tides.

On Monday at Coney Island, a WESTERN GREBE was spotted off the fishing pier and watched until dusk as it drifted east towards 2nd Street. We have no confirmed subsequent reports. Then on Tuesday a THICK-BILLED MURRE was found near shore at Brighton Beach 5th Street, and it too drifted east. Both birds were nicely photographed and could still be in the area.

A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE has shown up for the second winter at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where it is generally seen in the Bay, west of the West Pond, associating with Common Goldeneye. The goldeneyes also do fly onto the West Pond on occasion, so check there as well.

The SUMMER TANAGER at Clove Lakes Park on northern Staten Island was still present Monday near the west side of the white bridge, north of Martling Avenue.

The Bayville BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still present Thursday off Bayville Avenue, just before the entrance onto Centre Island, a mile east of Bayville.

The Roslyn COMMON RAVENS were seen again last Friday, between 3-4pm, which appears to be a good time to see them as they come in to roost at the Nassau County Art Museum.

Ninety-one REDHEAD were counted Monday on Capri Pond off Montauk Highway, Route 27A in West Islip.

On the North Fork of Long Island, another drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was present again Wednesday along the Route 25 causeway between East Marion and Orient.

An ICELAND GULL was at Iron Pier in Northville Tuesday, and 27 WOOD DUCKS were counted off Cedar Beach Road on Wednesday.

On the South Fork a DOVEKIE was reported inside Shinnecock Bay last Saturday, and the adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was still in the Bonaparte's Gull flock around the inlet last Saturday, when two RED-NECKED GREBES were seen at Moriches Inlet, with good numbers of COMMON EIDER continuing at both of these inlets.

Also on Saturday, seven TUNDRA SWANS were present on Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton, with two more on a field at Daniel's Lane on Fairfield Pond Road.

The Further Lane field in East Hampton Saturday still had five GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and seven CACKLING GEESE in a Canada flock often found there.

Probably most impressive though were the 1200 RAZORBILLS estimated moving by Montauk Point last Saturday morning. Other birds at the Point featured a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK, an ICELAND GULL, and 15 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES.

On Sunday the number of RAZORBILLS was down, but still a good 323, and 4 drake KING EIDERS were also seen off the Point, along with 11 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, and another drake KING was found at Ditch Plains Sunday, with single RED-NECKED GREBES at both Montauk Point and Ditch Plains.

An ICELAND GULL was at the Montauk Harbor Inlet on Sunday, and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues on the beach at Fort Pond Bay.

Two TRUMPETER SWANS have returned to Upper Lake in Yaphank, apparently present since mid-December, and can be viewed from vantage points off Main Street. This species has not yet been added to the New York list due to issues of origin and captive breeding.

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 ~